Strawberry
by Lady Salazar
Summary: Ichigo dances in between sanity and survival, Rukia faces execution and old grief, and friends rush to save them, while help appears in unexpected quarters and conspiracy piles upon conspiracy. AU, fem!Ichigo, SS arc.
1. Sword of Fate

Alas, here beginneth The Infernal Project. A few notes to begin with.

1.) I don't own Bleach. Be thankful.

2.) Yes, this is genderswitch. With Ichigo. Yes, this is taboo. No, it is not a pairing fic. Any pairings that pop up are plot-related.

3.) Yes, there is a semi-coherent non-Bleachcanon plot. Yes, it will take a while to become apparent.

4.) This is the first arc of the Strawberry-verse, the "Karakura arc." Like it's canon counterpoint, it's a setup arc. In some places, it is very, eerily (annoyingly) similar. It is seven total chapters long, five of which are complete. After the Karakura arc is finished, I'll probably take a break so I don't get too irritated with it.

5.) Characterization is heavily background-driven. Just because you know canon doesn't mean you know the background here.

Any GS fan should thank Dolphin River for the writing of this fic. I was caught between trying arrancar!Ichigo and trying this, and I went with this because she's a friend and GS fan. So, dedicated to her, is Strawberry. Let the madness begin.

* * *

_**Strawberry**_

_The Karakura Arc_

**Chapter One - Sword of Fate**

**-**

"Ignorant bastards."

_**Kurosaki Ichigo: 15. **_

"Full of themselves, thinking they're the only ones that matter."

_**Orange hair. Brown eyes. **_

"Pathetic, ignorant bastards. I hate people like them."

"You'll help me then?"

She gave the floating girl a smirk, unbothered by the corroded chain protruding from her chest or the way half her face was coated with blood from a wound on her temple.

"Yeah. I'd be glad to." Her smirk turned vicious. "Just sit back and watch. _Oi, idiots_!"

Across from them, across the park, several skateboarders paused in fooling around and looked up.

"See, they even answer to it!" Ichigo crowed as the skateboarders actually began to wander over to her seat. As the first one came into range, she leaped to her feet and lashed out with her fist, dropping him to the ground with a solid strike to the temple.

"What the - you come in here and drop Li'l Yama-"

Ichigo's face split into a nasty grin, and she spun on her heel, kicking the second thug on the side of his face. He collapsed to the ground beside his friend.

"Whoa, she's dropped Li'l Toshi," another boarder commented.

"'t ain't right. She's one blood-thirsty berryhead."

"Better not mess wit' her, she'll _kill _you."

"Kill you?" The orange-head snickered. "She doesn't deserve to deal with your company for eternity." She straightened up and pointed. "You, smelly-lookin' dude! Tell me, what the hell is that?"

It was a bottle with flowers. Smelly smiled unsurely. "It's… an offering to some dead girl?"

The boarder earned a kick in the face for his trouble. "Exactly! Now, question two: _What is that vase doing on its side_?"

"We… knocked it over with our boards?" one of remaining thugs said fearfully.

"Didn't you?" Ichigo fell back in a fighting stance. "Well, then, since you don't seem up to apologizing… I guess it's up to me to _knock you over for her_!"

But it was apparent she didn't need to, because the boarders erupted into screams, their eyes focusing on a point above her shoulder.

"We're sorry, we're sorry! We won't do it again!" Leaving their skateboards and dragging their friends, they ran as if their lives were in danger.

Ichigo snorted and stomped down on the nearest board, snapping it in half through the middle. "Like I said, idiots." She looked up at the ghost that hovered beside her. "But I doubt they'll be back anytime soon. If they do, just let me know, and I'll drive 'em off again." She smirked. "Painfully, if possible."

The ghost laughed. "You're a scary person, Ichigo. I think you're right; they won't be back. I should be able to rest in peace now. Thank you."

She waved vaguely, already walking off. "Don't mention it. Kicking ass is always fun. Just you rest in peace."

_**That's right. I've always seen ghosts. Seen the dead as clearly as the living. **_

The Kurosaki Clinic was several blocks away from the ghost's park, but Ichigo saw no point in delaying. The longer she dallied in the open, the more likely it was she would pick up another passenger, and she really didn't want to deal with another. Not today. Hell, not this week.

"I'm home," she called out, brushing open the door, waiting - _duck_.

"You're late!" The leg of Kurosaki Isshin flew over her head. "Do you know what time it is, delinquent? Dinner in this house is at seven, sharp!"

"Then fuck dinner!" Ichigo retorted from the floor. "What kind of father expects a fifteen-year-old to be home at seven, anyway? Ever heard of making exceptions?"

"There is no exception for _brawling_," said Isshin sternly, looking down at her with crossed arms.

_It wasn't just brawling and he knows it! _Ichigo thought sourly. She was never late getting home because of a fight; they never took that long. "I was helping a ghost find peace!"

"There are no exceptions, period! The rules of this house are iron - you break them, you bleed!" Isshin turned plaintive. "Or are you trying to rub it in my face that you can see ghosts and I can't? Why can't I have the gift? Why?"

"Here's a better question - Why can't you just shut up?" Ichigo snapped. She heard this exact speech every time she mentioned something ghost-related; she could almost swear he did it merely to annoy her! "I didn't ask for it!"

Yuzu, a few feet away at the table, was upset by the quarrel, one that was that repeated over and over again. "Please stop fighting! Dinner's getting cold!"

"Let them fight Yuzu. Maybe it'll put Ichigo in a better mood." Karin, on the other hand, was closer to amused. "She's usually only this sour after being a good Samaritan."

"Actually…" Yuzu squinted at a blur next to her orange-haired older sister. "Ichigo, I think you have another friend."

"Another?" Ichigo looked up into the glasses of a smiling middle age man in a suit and growled. "Damn it! I exorcise one and another latches right onto me!"

"Dropped your guard!" Isshin took advantage of his daughter's lack of attention and tried to slam a foot into her gut, but she took a step back and caught the foot, then twisted and pinned him to the floor.

"I give up!" Releasing her father, Ichigo stood and stomped off, ignoring the yells that burst out behind her. "I'm going to bed!" Darkly, she noted the ghost followed her.

_**I've always seen ghosts, ever since I was small. Therefore…**_

_There've been more and more ghosts bugging me lately, more than ever. _Ichigo sat down on the edge of her bed, tired but not in the mood to sleep. She closed her eyes. _And most of them are annoyingly sappy. Today was almost a relief. _

"It's close…"

Her eyes shot open. There, standing in the middle of the room, ignoring Ichigo as though she didn't exist, was a short girl in a hakama and kimono top, short black hair, and a sword at her hip.

_**The existence of shinigami…**_

This was too much. After dealing with ghosts and dealing with her father, Ichigo really wasn't up to being civil. She tackled the stranger, leaping head-first from the bed, and pinned her arms behind her back.

"Wha-what…?"

"What the hell are you doing in my house?" she demanded.

The girl squirmed, twisting to try and look at her captor's face. "I - I do not understand. You can see me - _touch _me. How is that possible?"

"Why wouldn't I be able to see you-?"

A second later, in an abrupt reversal of fortune, Ichigo went flying off of the intruder, propelled by a kick from Isshin. "Stop jumping around so much, girl!"

"Why should I?" she snarked, not taking her eyes off of the black-clad girl. She was looking from Ichigo to Isshin, looking perplexed. "All you _do _is jump around! I'll jump around all I like when I'm subduing intruders!"

"What intruder?"

"Uh, the chick right in front of you?"

Isshin looked down blankly.

"It does no good. Normal people cannot see me." The girl sat up, shaking her head. "I am… a shinigami."

Ichigo closed her eyes again. Too many ghosts had been bothering her lately. It was just her luck that when she got fed up she got landed with a freaking delusional samurai-wannabe. "Dad. Get lost."

…_**had never crossed my mind. **_

It took a long time to convince Isshin that his presence was not necessary, he having abruptly reverted to his generic sappy personality that came out when he thought something was wrong with her that he hadn't caused, and when the intruder had finished her minute-long explanation, Ichigo wondered whether it was worth the headache.

"Okay. Let me get this straight. You're a shinigami, from this place called Soul Society, and you're here to vanquish an 'evil spirit'." Ichigo nodded, as if the load of nonsense wasn't. She threw her hands up in the air. "What do you think I am, an idiot?"

The would-be shinigami took a step back, scandalized. "You can see ghosts, yet you do not believe in shinigami?"

"Of course not!" Ichigo retorted, crossing her arms. "If there were shinigami, I wouldn't have to play nice with all the ghosts haunting _me_!"

Looking highly insulted, the girl grasped her katana's hilt, drawing it with a metallic _sheen_. Ichigo tensed and flinched back as the blade flew by her face, only to balk as the other flipped it reverse grip with the ease of experience and brought it down beside her head -

-on the forehead of the middle-aged ghost from earlier. Wide-eyed and fearful, he stuttered, "Please… I - I don't want to go to Hell!" as she pulled the hilt away, leaving an odd tattoo on the ghost's forehead.

"Do not presume." The shinigami - because Ichigo couldn't disbelieve her now, not with the ghost's response - watched dispassionately as the ghost shattered into a dozen shards that were sucked into a growing white portal. "It is not Hell that awaits you. It is the Soul Society."

She sheathed the sword again, turning to Ichigo with a trace of a sneer. "I doubt you need further convincing."

Ichigo shook her head. "What… happened? Where's the ghost?"

"I sent him to Soul Society," the shinigami replied, as though it should have been obvious. "By means of _Konso_, the soul funeral. You would call it 'passing on' in your language. It is one of the duties of a shinigami." She paused, gazing at Ichigo, something odd in her dark eyes, and then held up a finger. "I will only explain this once.

"There are two types of souls in this world: the wholes, which you are accustomed to seeing; and the hollows, the fallen souls, which prey on the wholes. Shinigami are to escort the wholes to the Soul Society using _Konso_, while vaporizing the hollows. "

The shinigami doodled on a notepad (that came from nowhere) as she spoke, and turned it around, to reveal two drawings - if that could be called that, bad as they were. On one, a mutant rabbit's head was labeled "whole" and rested beside an arrow labeled "_Konso_" that extended across a barrier to a bubble emblazoned "Soul Society." On the other, an equally mutated teddy bear (_Was _it a teddy bear? Ichigo wasn't sure, it could have been another rabbit) was labeled "Hollow" and surrounded by a field of lightning bolts and a cloud that announced "Kaboom!"

The black-haired girl tilted her head. "Any questions?"

"Uh, yeah," Ichigo started, squinting. "Just why do your drawings suck so bad?" She had to dodge the marker the shinigami had used to draw the horrid pictures. "Anyway - actually, yes I do. These Hollows, is that what you were talking about before? The 'evil spirit'?"

She nodded.

Brown eyes blinked. "Th-then what are you doing here!" she sputtered. "Go kill it!"

The shinigami looked away. "I would… but I have not been able to sense its presence for some time now."

_Not sense its presence? _"Could it have left?" Ichigo wondered.

"It's possible," the girl admitted, shaking her head, "but highly unlikely."

_Aaaaaaoooooo!_

Ichigo froze, and a chill ran down her back. "What was that?" _Not just a scream…_

"What was what?"

"That - that bloodcurdling howl!" _Don't tell me she didn't hear it!_

"Bloodcurdling howl…?" the shinigami repeated, and her eyes went wide as it sounded out a second time. She span on her heel toward the call, but not before Ichigo saw the shocked look she sent her.

Almost in answer to the howl, there was a scream from below. Ichigo shot to her feet. "That was Yuzu!" _What's going on…? Is the Hollow attacking us?_ Dashing past the shinigami, she threw open the door, and saw Karin, lying on her stomach and dragging herself forward.

She saw red, and it wasn't just the fury building, fury at this "Hollow" thing, even at the shinigami - couldn't she have destroyed it earlier instead of being an annoying bitch? There was blood running down from her temple, and a thin spotty line of blood traced her path down the hall.

Karin looked up and gave a strained smile upon seeing Ichigo. "Good," she whispered. "It hasn't come this way yet… Dad's back exploded and he fell… Then it went for me and Yuzu… so fast…" Her eyes slipped closed, but Ichigo heard her last words before she slipped into unconsciousness. "I thought I had to warn… Ichigo…."

"She is okay," the shinigami assured quickly. "She is not dead. You stay here; I will deal with the Hollow."

_Stay here? _

Ichigo's fist clenched.

_Fuck no._

She span on her heel, racing after the shinigami.

_**And so fell the sword of fate. **_

Ichigo felt it before she saw it. An overwhelming _emptiness_, a boundless _vacuum_, and so cold… something about it made her instincts scream at her to run, that this was a predator. The she turned the corner, skidding to a stop as she caught sight of a huge, hulking monkey-like figure with a bone-white skull-like mask.

"I told you to stay out of this!" yelled the shinigami, dodging the monster's fist. She apparently wasn't having an easy time, since she was heavily favoring one leg and it looked like the monster had tried to make a meal out of her right side.

_Is that… the Hollow? _Ichigo wondered, not really registering the shinigami's shout. _When she said evil spirit, I thought it'd be human - but it's a monster…_ She looked down suddenly at her hands, which were trembling. _Why am I… shaking? I'm not scared. _

…_.Am I?_

"_Move_!"

Jolted to the present, Ichigo barely had the time to register that the Hollow had abandoned the shinigami and was charging her, gaping mouth open wide, before years of instinct ingrained by martial arts flooded into her mind, overpowering whatever held her still. She dodged to the left, rebounding off the monster's hand, and brought her body up, aiming for the neck.

But the Hollow's other arm swung around, and the kick didn't have a chance to connect before Ichigo was thrust away and through the wall. Landing roughly on her back, she nonetheless stumbled to her feet, baring her teeth in a snarl that made the shinigami take a step back.

"…Ichigo?" came a nearly inaudible mumble from behind the dark haired girl.

"Yuzu?"

The shinigami shook her head. "She is unconscious."

"Ichigo, run… don't let it get you…"

_Both of them. Karin and Yuzu, worrying about me when they were in danger… _Something in Ichigo's gut twisted painfully at the thought. "You were protecting her, weren't you."

"I was nearly too late," she admitted, her dark eyes flickering to her mauled side.

"What'd it _do _to you?"

"Hollows eat souls…," the shinigami explained, slipping to the ground. "Preferably those with high reiatsu, spirit energy. Your family… your father excepted… have very high amounts of reiatsu, for humans." An inscrutable look crossed her face.

_It tried to… eat her? _Ichigo tensed, feeling the empty chill of the Hollow at the edge of her senses and approaching. _Eat Yuzu? Eat Karin? Dad? Hell, even the shinigami… _It may have been an exercise in futility, but she nonetheless stepped back into form. _It'll have to eat me first, and I fucking well know I won't agree with it. Strawberry, my ass. _

"What would you do… to save your family?"

Ichigo snapped her eyes down to the shinigami, who had switched her katana to her left hand. "Anything," she said firmly. It was true. It was the least she could do. "As corny as it sounds, shinigami, I've never feared death. Pain is just an obstacle to overcome. But if I were to lose Karin or Yuzu or Dad… that would be a failure I could never forgive myself for." _Because, then, my life would mean nothing._ "Why?"

"Because there is a way," the shinigami began, voice growing stronger as she continued. "_You _must become a shinigami!"

Well, Ichigo hadn't expected _that_. She's was fairly sure it showed on her face. "That's possible?"

"It is!" She raised the sword, her left arm showing some strain. Not ambidextrous, obviously. "Place the point of the zanpakuto at your heart - and I will infuse you with half of my power. You will temporarily have the power of a shinigami, and with that can you defeat the Hollow!"

_At your heart? _Ichigo had a feeling she knew why the shinigami had asked that question now. Either it could fail and she'd die, or she could drop dead once the "shinigami power" left her.

She didn't care. Yuzu and Karin would be okay. And Dad, because even if he was annoying as hell, she didn't want him to be eaten either. She had not been grandstanding when she said she did not fear death.

"Alright, shinigami," said Ichigo, grabbing the blade of the katana - though she'd called it a zanpakuto. "We'll try this plan of yours."

"It's not shinigami," the girl corrected, smiling slightly. "My name is Kuchiki Rukia."

"Kurosaki Ichigo," she returned. "Let's pray our next meeting is under better circumstances."

The Hollow let loose its howl again, appearing in the hole it had created in the wall, and they both grew serious.

"Yes. Let's." And with that, shinigami Kuchiki Rukia thrust her blade through Ichigo's heart.

For Ichigo, it felt as though she'd been frozen from the inside out, like her blood had been replaced by ice so cold it burned as it pumped through her veins. It radiated from her heart, from the point of the zanpakuto, seeking release through her skin.

A second later it was over, and she was standing in front of the Hollow, the lingering fear and instinct to run utterly silenced. Her body felt strangely light, a contrast to the comforting, if unfamiliar, weight on her back. She reached back, grasped the hilt, and swept the sword - no, the zanpakuto - out in front of her, marveling but somehow unsurprised at its size.

Ichigo looked up at the Hollow where it stood a few paces away and examining the new threat.

"Bastard. Dad, Karin, and Yuzu… you hurt them all."

The Hollow lashed out with a hand and lost that hand.

"I really don't like it when my family gets hurt. It pisses me off."

The same followed with its foot.

"And pissing me off is _never a good thing!_"

As the Hollow fell forward, unable to balance on one foot, Ichigo brought the blade straight down through its masked face, and blinked in shock as the monster's body began to fragment and dissolve until there was nothing left.

"Ha." Ichigo fell to her knees as exhaustion like she had never known overcame her. "'cause when you piss me off," she concluded, her vision going black, "things get messy."

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**End first chapter, in which things are altogether too much like canon.**


	2. Now Her Protecter

Now on the chapter two, which, like chapter one, is Far Too Much Like Canon. Damn.

Well, at least here you see some of the differences in Canon!Ichigo and Ichigirl. Some. Maybe. I can't wait for chapter four... That one was fun. Very, very fun. And correspondingly, the first obvious bits of Strawberry plot. Nyah nyah. Note I say the first _obvious_ bits.

Some disturbing imagery, and the fight scene here came off very weird. The fights in future chapters are much better in my opinion.

Onward into the breach... or the blue puddle, whichever you prefer.

**

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**Chapter Two - Now Her Protector**

It was cold in the kitchen. So cold, in fact, that the breath escaped her mouth as steam. Ichigo found that odd, since Yuzu usually was very careful to keep the room temperature steady, for reasons she didn't quite understand.

"Ichigo, come eat!"

There was something wrong with Yuzu's voice, though exactly what it was escaped her. Had the shinigami - Rukia - not managed to keep her from being hurt? She didn't sound like she was in pain; and when Ichigo turned around, she didn't look it either.

"Yeah, coming, Yuzu," the orange-head replied faintly, taken aback. She had only caught Yuzu's profile, but the younger Kurosaki looked as though the previous night hadn't occurred at all. No blood, no wound, not even bruising.

Karin and her father were already at the table when she sat down, Karin appearing bored and Dad the same as usual.

Ichigo looked down at the prepared meal and froze. "What… is this?" _Shinigami? _

Kuchiki Rukia lay splayed out on her back on the table, her wounds every bit as awful as Ichigo remembered from the night prior. Her eyes were tight with pain from the injuries in conjunction with Yuzu's knife, which was digging into her ankle.

"What's wrong, Ichigo?" Yuzu asked, sawing through the bone. "Eat up. It's not often someone can get their hands on shinigami."

_What's going on? Yuzu would never say something like that. _

"Aren't you going to eat, Ichigo?" asked Karin. "If not, I'll take your portion."

"Karin? You too?" Ichigo flinched as Yuzu's knife finally succeeded in removing Rukia's foot from her leg, and she cheerfully set it on Ichigo's plate.

"Eat up, Ichigo," she advised. "How else are you going to get stronger?"

"What are you talking about, Yuzu?" Ichigo demanded, feeling sick. "She saved your life! How can you _do _this?"

Yuzu, who had begun to cut into Rukia's shin, paused and looked up at her orange-headed older sister. "What are you talking about, Ichigo?" she asked. "She never saved any of us."

Ichigo stared in shock and confusion as her family backed up out of their chairs and stood, facing her, almost proudly displaying the identical holes in their chests, right where their hearts would have been.

"And, Ichigo…" Yuzu continued quietly, as the cold in the kitchen intensified, "_neither did you_…"

"Ichigo…"

"_Ichigo_!"

She shot upright, grasping the sheets like a lifeline, and barely missed nearly getting a concussion from her attack-happy father. Frustrated - and, as much as she didn't like admitting it, a little freaked out - the orange-head turned on the nearest outlet and elbowed Isshin in the head.

_Wait. Dad? _Ichigo sprang up, subconsciously wondering about the morality of fathers attacking their fifteen-year-old daughters in bed, and looked him up and down.

"Where are your wounds?" she asked after a moment. _Karin said his 'back exploded,' but he looks fine…._

"Wounds? What wounds?" He returned the scrutiny with a look of confusion that matched how she felt. "Was I injured?"

Ichigo caught a flash of a gaping hole in his chest in her mind's eye and shook her head to dislodge the image that, while not gruesome, had nonetheless chilled her to the bone. "Nevermind."

"Now, now Ichigo, you can trust daddy-"

The orange-head twitched, and then slammed her fists into Isshin's face. _How can my father go from whaling on me to the sickening daddy act in seconds? _"Get out of here, you idiot. I need to get dressed for school."

It was some ten o' clock before Isshin had engaged in his morning wake-up call, so she was already late, but between breakfast and the fantastic story her family had somehow convinced themselves had caused the hole in the house wall, it was a surprise Ichigo managed to make it for third period.

"…if she's hurt? What if she's dead?"

Class hadn't started yet, so Miss Ochi wasn't present (she was notorious for showing up later than most of the students), so freshmen class 3 was engaging in gossip. And in the corner that Ichigo was headed toward, one with two girls, one tall with short black hair and another with long orange-brown, the topic of conversation was obviously herself.

"Mizuiro said that when he went by Ichigo's house this morning there was a huge hole in the side," said Tatsuki, gesturing with one hand to Orihime. "He said Ichigo's dad told them a truck had plowed into it in the middle of the night, and they never even woke up."

_As if…. If a truck plowed into the house and we never woke up, then how'd we know it happened in the first place? _Ichigo snorted, causing the two to jump. A second later her sight was obscured by long hair and she was being squeezed, and god, how the hell did Orihime always manage to take her off guard like that?

"Ichigo! You're okay!"

"Orihime… _off_," she grunted. Tatsuki sniggered in the background.

Smiling sheepishly, Orihime backed away. "I'm glad you're okay, Ichigo."

"What really happened?" Tatsuki demanded.

_Oh, a demented-looking monster with a hole in its chest attacked, hurt all of us and a stray shinigami - which exist by the way - and tossed me through the wall before plowing through the other way, and I had to take the shinigami's power to kill it…._

_Ghosts are one thing, this is entirely another. _

"Shit happened," she said succinctly, setting her back down by her seat. "What's third period?"

"Contemporary arts," said Tatsuki, giving the orange-head a look that promised an interrogation later. "And by the way, we've got a new student. Odd time for a transfer, but her parents had to move."

"Who?"

Tatsuki grinned. "She's behind you."

Ichigo turned around - and gawped. _What the hell…? _"What're _you _doing here?"

Though she was wearing normal clothes instead of shinigami garb, and obviously everyone could see her, there was no mistaking her: Kuchiki Rukia.

She shot Ichigo a poisonous smile, and said with such sweetness the orange-head could have gagged, "I haven't gotten my books yet, Ichigo. Would you share yours with me?" She held out a hand as she spoke, revealing a message: _Say one thing and you're dead._

When a shinigami gives you a death threat, it pays to listen. Thus, Ichigo clammed up and nodded mutely.

Of course, later on, as she offered her book to Rukia, the latter would find a note in its pages.

_Lunch is after fourth period. Then, I want to know what the fuck you're doing here._

It wasn't as hard to get away from Orihime and Tatsuki as Ichigo had thought it'd be during lunch, and that reinforced her opinion that she would be in for it later. Orihime, despite her occasional ditzy moments, was not an idiot; it was likely that at least Tatsuki suspected that Rukia had something to do with what Ichigo was not saying.

"What's up, chick?"

Ichigo twitched. "Stop saying things like that. It's revolting."

"Revolting?" Rukia repeated, sounding scandalized. "But I stayed up all night studying the contemporary vernacular of this world! It's a common phrase!"

"Well, _Rukia_, here's a lesson you must have overlooked: no one uses terms like 'contemporary vernacular' in a conversation." Ichigo looked around and spotted no one. "Speaking of conversations, we're alone. So what the hell is up? Why are you here and not in that Soul Society place?"

"Why?" Rukia crossed her arms and frowned. "Because I'd have to be a shinigami to get back!"

_Have to be…? _she thought contrarily. _What about that ghost, then? _"But you _are _a shinigami, unless you've forgotten!" Ichigo mimed drawing on a notepad with her hands. "After all, you made certain that I was clear on that point!"

"Well, I'm not anymore! In case _you've _forgotten, you _took _my powers!"

"It was half! And you fucking said yourself you were letting me borrow them!" Ichigo was quite thankful there was no one around; the shinigami was starting piss her off.

And if looks were to be believed, Rukia was getting more than a little irritated too. "I meant to give you half, but I ended up not _giving _you anything! You sucked it all up on your own!"

The orange-head paused as her irritation abated for favor of examining her memory of the previous night. _Sucked it up? _"…like a vacuum?"

"Exactly!" Despite her agreement, it was obvious the shinigami hadn't thought about it in those exact terms, because she looked unsettled at the idea. "Now I can only do the simplest of _kido_, and I have to rely on this _gigai_!"

"_Kido_?" Ichigo repeated dumbly. "_Gigai_?" _It's like a goddamn different language_…

The - disempowered - shinigami sighed. "_Kido_… also called the demon arts, is powered by reiatsu," she explained. "_Gigai _are false bodies inhabited by weakened shinigami until their powers return."

_So that's why everyone could see her… _That made sense. After all, if a weakened shinigami had no protection, in this case as a normal human, he or she would be easy prey for a Hollow. Ichigo carefully disregarded the images that thought brought to mind.

"Okay, I get all that - but there's one question you haven't answered."

Rukia looked up, slightly confused.

"What are you doing here?"

She sighed - a put-upon sigh, like Ichigo should have figured it out herself. "I may no longer have powers, but I still have a job," said Rukia bluntly. "And since you're the one who took them, _you _have to do it for me."

_Of all the… _For a second, Ichigo felt like snapping back, 'No way! I'm not going to fight those monsters for anyone else,' but an image of Yuzu being shielded behind the shinigami came to mind and she stopped.

"Why should I?" she asked almost politely. Well, the tone was nearly polite. "Why should I fight those things and chance getting killed? Or worse yet, munched?"

"W-why?" Rukia looked rattled, as if she had expected Ichigo to agree right away. "W-well, you _have _to… and…" Something occurred to her. "…Arisawa and Inoue said you _loved _fighting."

"You have point there." Not only did she enjoy fights, Ichigo remembered those last few minutes with dazzling clarity. There had been a satisfaction in making that final cut she had never felt before… the finishing blow. It added an element of danger, the thought that the fight wasn't going to end because of a few injuries.

But Ichigo could just see her father's expression if she signed up for a potentially life-threatening occupation _because _it was life-threatening. He would never shut up. She had to have a different reason to give him, if he ever found out - as unlikely it was that he would, since he couldn't see ghosts.

Rukia was quiet, watching her think. More correctly, she was watching Ichigo scramble for an excuse, but the disempowered shinigami didn't know that.

"_As corny as it sounds, shinigami, I've never feared death. Pain is just an obstacle to overcome. But if I were to lose Karin or Yuzu or Dad… that would be a failure I could never forgive myself for." _

Protection… Isshin would accept that. Karin could see ghosts with the clarity Ichigo could, even if she hadn't until a few years ago, and Yuzu could see them however indistinctly. If Hollow attacked those with high reiatsu, it was likely that having no one to kill the Hollows in the area would endanger them.

Ichigo's eyes narrowed, and she nodded sharply. "When do I have to start?"

Rukia blinked, taken aback a second time. She recovered quickly, pulling a fingerless red glove from her pocket and on her hand. "Find somewhere to hide your body. We start now."

If one of those monsters came after her family again, she would protect them to the last breath.

If _she _went after the _Hollows_… well, there was no one to protect _them_.

* * *

"Something's wrong with Ichigo," remarked Tatsuki, frowning deeply to where the rest of the class's females were sitting chatting among themselves. Chizuru, sitting several feet away with the rest of the class 1-3 girls, was eyeing Orihime speculatively, and she just knew the lesbian was going to try and make a move. "She'd never leave you alone with Chizuru on the loose just to run off with someone she didn't even know."

"Nothing's wrong with Ichigo," Orihime contradicted, dipping the leek in her hand into her dip, some goop mixture of red bean paste and fried peanut butter. "Ichigo does know Rukia." _She was surprised to see her, but she recognized her. _

Tatsuki shot the other girl a look, only to glance away quickly, slightly put off her own food. "Yeah, that's what it seemed like, but it's not like her. Couldn't she have just had Rukia eat lunch with us?"

"Ichigo wanted to know why she was here." Orihime took a bite and chewed. "But she didn't want us to know."

"Something to do with a fight?"

_Rukia stood with her feet planted and fists in front of her, face set. Ichigo stood loosely across from her, looking bored. After a second, the black-haired girl disappeared in a shower of dust, only to crash headfirst into Ichigo's raised hand and topple backward with swirly eyes. _

Orihime shook her head.

Ichigo usually did try to keep them out of her fights, but the idea of her picking one with the new girl was absurd. Unless she was in a bad mood, she was particular about who she fought, and what she looked for most was endurance. Rukia was too delicate to have attracted Ichigo's attention.

The breeze shifted, and Orihime perked up, sniffing the air. She broke into a smile. "Ichigo's back!"

Tatsuki gave her a disturbed look - Orihime knew her friend found it odd she could identify Ichigo by scent, even if the odor in question was sharp as a knife - as she glanced around, trying to spot the long tail of distinctive bright orange hair. Underneath the usual metallic glaze was a slight chill that hadn't been there the day before, one that was ever so slightly stronger than before she and Rukia had left together.

_Ichigo looks happy about something_, Orihime noted. _Like she's had a fight. But there's no smell of sweat…. _

Like a light bulb, realization lit her face. "I know!"

Tatsuki had opened her mouth to make a comment that failed on her lips. "Know what?"

"Ichigo's a _ghost fighter_!"

* * *

"Okay," Rukia started. She held up two balls, both with a hand-looking thing and a smiley face drawn on in marker. One was labeled 'hand' and the other 'head.' "From what I saw from watching you earlier, you can handle your zanpakuto well enough despite its size, but you lack efficiency."

_Well, I wasn't really trying… _Ichigo hid an amused smirk behind her hand.

"Experienced shinigami need only one blow to down a Hollow." Rukia shook the ball labeled 'head.' "The head is a Hollow's weak spot; one good whack will split it open. Enough damage to the rest of the Hollow will defeat it, but it's much simpler going for the head."

Ichigo nodded slowly; knowing an opponent's weak point was a major advantage. "Hmm… only go for the head in emergencies, then."

The disempowered shinigami mirrored the nod for a moment, before she dropped her balls. "Are you even taking this seriously?" she demanded.

"Of course I am," Ichigo replied. "Not taking a fight seriously is asking to get your ass kicked, and I'm a sore loser." She shrugged. "But there's no point in going straight after an opponent's weak spot. You don't get any better that way, and if that strike ends up not enough for some reason, you're up a creek without a paddle."

Rukia reached to pick up the balls and put them away… somewhere. "There's no Hollow that could survive having its head sliced apart."

"So there's no Hollow that can comprehend the concept of ducking?" When a moment passed without a reply, Ichigo shrugged again and finished, "Besides, if you're going to end a fight in one blow, what's the point in fighting at all? It's no fun."

Rukia stopped dead on the sidewalk, staring at the orange-head like she was one of Orihime's attempts at cooking. Closing her eyes, she muttered something Ichigo only caught snatches of.

_Idiots… in the eleventh division? _Figuring it was probably something she would find out after she died, Ichigo didn't let it bother her. Instead, she called for Rukia to hurry up. "Orihime's place is only a few blocks away. Maybe we can get there in time to keep her from deciding to cook us dinner."

"What's wrong with Orihime's cooking?"

"Orihime lives alone. No one ever taught her to cook, so she experiments; only, she has an _interesting _taste." Ichigo winced. _Talk about the pot and the kettle black… _There was no need to tell the former shinigami that Orihime was the only person who could stomach any of _her_ cooking - confections aside - without feeling sick. "Leeks and red bean paste, remember?"

"She lives on her own…" Wincing, Rukia changed the subject. "Does that mean her parents are dead?"

Ichigo scowled. _No, but the world would be better off if they were. _"No. She lived with her brother, Inoue Kakei, up until about three years ago when he died in a car accident."

"Did you know him?"

Ichigo shook her head. "The day I first saw him was the day he died. Kinda whiny, but he cared for Orihime at least. I haven't seen him around in a while, actually. It's like he disappeared." _I don't really miss him, _she added to herself, missing the uneasy expression on Rukia's face. _God, he had issues there at the end…_

The disempowered shinigami didn't provide a response, in favor of looking at the ground uncomfortably. Any other time of day, in any other district, this would have led to her colliding with a dozen passersby, but in the fading dusk there was only the two of them.

Which was probably a good thing, she reckoned after a moment, considering they were carelessly talking about ghosts, Hollows, and Orihime's cooking.

It had been a slight surprise, coming back from killing that Hollow at lunchtime to receive an invitation to stay the night at Orihime's place with Rukia included. It was proof that her friends were already on the track of what was up - less of a surprise when she remembered that Orihime was involved.

Orihime had made a habit of figuring things out when there was no logical basis for it, and damned if Ichigo could understand how.

"Ichigo." Rukia had looked up from her shoes and appeared serious. "If a Hollow should appear while we're at this 'sleepover' thing, what are you going to do?"

She hadn't actually thought about it. It would seem awfully weird to an onlooker if Rukia's cell phone were to ring and the both of them disappeared. Maybe if she could find the Hollows on her own, she could excuse herself. As it was, even if she knew where they would appear, via the phone, without Rukia-radar, if it was out of sight she was useless.

"Say 'see you, be back later,'" Ichigo concluded frankly. "'I just have to use the bathroom… a couple blocks away.'"

Rukia palmed her face. "It could be worse. I don't know how, but it could be."

The Hollow-tracking phone began to beep, and Ichigo couldn't help but snicker. Rukia made a sound halfway between a groan and a whine, before she pulled it out to examine the order and paled.

"Ichigo, how far are we from Orihime's house?"

"Just around the corner…" Ichigo trailed off, a nasty suspicion forming in her mind, before she snatched the phone from the dark-eyed shinigami and goggled at the details.

**IMMEDIATELY ABOVE YOU**

**20M**

**7:30 P.M.**

**+ - 5 **

The Hollow wasn't above her; Ichigo could tell that at least. _A twenty meter radius of myself, appearing between 7:25 and 7:35… _She looked inquiringly at Rukia, who had already slipped on her glove.

"One last fact and one last question," she said after punching Ichigo's soul from her body. "_All _Hollows were once humans…. How long ago was it Inoue Kakei disappeared?"

One didn't have to be a genius to catch implication of that sort.

"Fucking _hell_!" She sped off. _First my family and now Orihime… I don't care if this is Inoue or some random fucking Hollow, it's going down… slowly and painfully.

* * *

_

The clock said 7:33, but Orihime knew it was ten minutes fast, something she did as extra motivation to get to school in time. That meant it was 7:23, and Ichigo was twenty-three minutes late. And Rukia too, since Ichigo was supposed to be bringing her.

She picked up her teacup, swirling the liquid around before sipping, and voiced her thoughts. "Ichigo's late."

"She, and that new girl too," Tatsuki added, setting her own cup down. She held her chin for a moment of contemplative silence before her lips twitched. "I think they must have gotten sidetracked somehow."

Orihime pouted into the warm amber liquid, feeling strangely jealous despite herself. Ichigo had never been late before; she had dragged a couple people in after her to excuse herself, but she always showed up on time.

"They disappeared off to lunch together, and Ichigo came back looking satisfied and all…. That doesn't usually happen." She leaned over the tabletop, unable to stifle her grin. "The new girl looked like she'd been through the mill, but Ichigo hadn't even broken a sweat."

Orihime blinked, not understanding Tatsuki's implication. "Rukia's not fit like Ichigo is."

Tatsuki's forehead hit the table with a thud. "That's my point! Rukia's tiny; Ichigo could do _anything _to her!"

"But Ichigo doesn't like easy fights…." Bam. "Tatsuki, you shouldn't hit your head like that…." She set her cup down, eyeing her friend in concern.

The martial artist looked back up and in a frenzy seized Orihime's face. "Ichigo doesn't like easy _fights_… but she _loves _beating people into submission. And Rukia… would be _easy _to beat down."

Comprehension dawned, and she gaped like a fish. "_Tatsuki_! Ichigo - Ichigo's not like that!"

"Then what _is _she like?" Tatsuki countered, grinning in a way that told Orihime that she was only half-joking. "She creamed the last people to show interest in her."

"W-well…" Orihime bit her lip, seriously thinking through the issue. "I think… I think she wants to be beat." She nodded, satisfied with the assessment. _Someone she could fight, someone she could keep fighting and getting stronger against but could never truly defeat: that's the only person Ichigo would settle for. _

"You think she wants someone to _beat _her?" said Tatsuki, bug-eyed. "Like… like a masochist or something?"

"What?" _Ichigo a masochist_? An image formed in her mind, but Orihime shook it off with difficulty, meeting the tomboy blank stare for blank stare. "What do you-"

It was nearly inaudible, but the sound of one of her soft plush animals hitting the floor garnered Orihime's attention. It was a small brown teddy bear she had gotten years ago.

"Enraku?" She leapt from her seat over to the plush toy, scooping it up. "Enraku, speak to me…" She trailed off in dismay as she picked it up and turned it over, spotting a split in the fabric of the bear's face, between the eyes. "How'd you get torn?"

"Torn?" Tatsuki spoke up from the table, surprised. "Did the fabric rot or something?"

"No…" Orihime felt something wet on her hand, and gulped. _It's red… like blood…. But how…? Enraku's bleeding?_

"Orihime? What's wrong?"

Orihime didn't get the opportunity to answer. She watched in horror as a clawed hand appeared in the rip, forcing it wider before lunging out and piercing her through the chest.

Her body slumped, lifeless, to the floor, and - whatever it was - went after Tatsuki.

_Can't… breathe…. _Orihime swallowed and sucked in a harsh gulp of air, feeling like she was trying to breathe through a pillow. A brief, distracted glance around left her blinking at her own chest. _A chain… I'm chained up…? _She followed the length of the chain with her eyes, and blinked when they met with her own body, lying on its back with eyes closed. _Why am I over there? _

Tatsuki slammed into the wall with a painful crash, and Orihime gazed at her attacker with mounting horror and fear boiling in her stomach.

_A monster…?_

The long, clawlike fingers were oddly familiar, but they were attached to hands and arms that led to a distinctly snakelike torso - long, thick, and scaled. Her eyes wondered upward, taking in oily-looking short black hair and a sliver of pale white mask, the latter of which would have been clownish if she hadn't been so terrified.

_Tatsuki… Tatsuki! _The martial artist leaned awkwardly against the wall, panting hard, and the monster was bringing its talons down for a finishing blow; Orihime tried to get up, to move, to _help her_, but she _couldn't_…

"Leave her the fuck alone!"

Hearing the familiar voice sent Orihime into a giddy relief. Part of her almost wondered what even Ichigo could do against this thing, but the majority of her was screaming: _they were saved_.

* * *

Rukia mentioned that all Hollows were human once. Okay, Ichigo could accept that, despite wondering just how a human spirit mutated into a mindless, vaguely animalistic monster. Did that make her a bad person that the idea of chopping formerly human spirits to bits didn't bother her one bit?

Whether it did or it didn't, Ichigo didn't _give a shit _either way.

The hilt of the zanpakuto was in her hand a fraction of a second later, and she kicked off of the windowsill, appearing in front of Tatsuki just in time to stop the blow.

"I'm sorry," she drawled, and tightened her grip still further. "I'm not interrupting, am I?"

"Kurosaki…" The Hollow virtually hissed her name, fitting as it was so similar to a snake. "Shinigami… _Traitor_!"

_What the fuck? _She leapt to the side, dragging Tatsuki like a limp doll behind her. _Inoue, it must be… he knows me. But he's aware… not like the others. _

_I have to take this seriously. _

Tatsuki hit the floor by the wall perhaps painfully, but Ichigo didn't care. It was the Hollow and herself. _Only _the Hollow and herself. There was this moment. _Only _this moment.

Step one: remove the opponent's main advantage. Barring that, its greatest strength.

_The claws. _

_Tail? Duck the tail. _

_Spin, slice; damn, blocked. _

_But not completely useless. First blood. _

Ichigo grinned, adjusting her stance. _Another blow, follow up - _

The Hollow let out a howl - a long spine-chilling shriek - and she froze for an instant, long enough for the tail to whip back around. The blade came up to block - to cut through - but failed, scraping on the scaled hide until the force tossed her off her feet.

_Twist, land, roll, stand. Regroup. _

So the monster had scales. It made sense; with the snakelike appearance, it should not have come as a surprise.

"_Ichigo_!"

_Orihime, a warning shout. _

The Hollow charged carelessly, caution thrown to the wind in fury. _Why? _Quickly, she hefted the blade, turning it straight out. Maybe it would impale itself. It didn't, but reared back to dodge; the tip nicked the mask, splitting a fraction from the top.

_Damn_. She almost pouted. That would have been an amusing kill.

"…Kakei? Is - is that you?" Somehow, Orihime had managed to see the monster's face; in some way, she had recognized him.

_Ah, shit. _Somehow, Ichigo didn't think her friend would take her killing her brother slowly and messily in a good way. Even if said brother was homicidal and a Hollow. The grin slipped off her face at a sudden thought: _How can she even see him? How can she see me? _

Her moment of distraction cost her, as that thrice-bedamned tail shot around a third time, landing solidly on her gut. No time to dodge, no time to duck - just enough time to clench her teeth and hope for the best.

_Shit-fuckin' damn! _Crashing through walls hurt like a bitch.

There was a wet trickle at the back of her skull; she felt it and scowled at the blood that came away on her fingertips. _Stupid hair… _The tie - a white tube-like thing that held her hair in a makeshift bun - had somehow snapped and cut into the skin, and now long, wavy orange locks spilled down past her shoulders, managing to get in her face and in her eyes.

"What just happened?"

Rukia barely managed to evade the instinctive punch.

"Got distracted," Ichigo growled. _Idiotic mistake… questions wait 'til after the fight, shithead. _"It's not as mindless as the other two…"

"But it's still a Hollow," the disempowered shinigami said quickly, as if she feared Ichigo's resolve flagging. It earned her a nasty glare.

"Hell if I don't know that," she spat, pushing back her hair and recalculating her jump. She needed to end this quick, sad as it was; there was no point in taking chances, and she already felt a touch woozy.

The sight she met was almost déjà vu. Only this time, the Hollow hovered over Orihime, and Inoue looked like he was having a fit.

"I'll kill you! _I'll kill you_!"

_You'll shit on my grave first. _

This time, when she lunged, Ichigo's blade made its mark, separating the monster's hands from its body.

"Oh yeah?" she challenged, tilting her head to the side, tone light despite her boiling anger. "Kill her will you? _There's _a change of heart."

"Why must you interfere, Kurosaki?" Inoue hissed, waving his stumps wildly. "Why?"

"Why?" Ichigo repeated, and snorted. "Has your death-addled brain already forgotten? _You _were the one who asked me to!"

"_**Miss Kurosaki… please. My sister… is naïve. Innocent. I protected her too much…"**_

"I did not ask you to take my place!" the Hollow shouted. "I wanted her to remember me - but she forgot. I have no place in her heart anymore!"

Ichigo laughed harshly. "You lying asshole."

"_**Show her… how to survive in today's world. Help her… get her feet. Help her… to let me go…"**_

"You asked me to make her forget you!"

"_**I was fifteen when my sister was born. She was… like a daughter more than a sister."**_

"But she never did. She never will."

"_**Our parents were monsters. So when I turned eighteen… I took her and left."**_

"But she has," said Inoue quietly, almost forlornly. "She forgot me… she won't live for me…." The black eyes lit with frenzy again. "Then she will _die _for me!"

_I don't think so. _Ichigo stepped to the side, directly in front of Orihime, and sliced upward through the gaping open mouth.

And as the mask split and the Hollow's body began to disintegrate, Ichigo slammed the zanpakuto into the floor. "You said… you protected her too much, said she'd be lost with you dead. You told me to teach her to stand alone… well, I failed.

"But it doesn't matter. I'm her protector now."


	3. The Hellbound

Happy Thanksgiving folks! A day early, but heh. Wednesday works.

BTW, since I've had it come up in reviews often... any pairings that happen to pop up in Strawberry are plot-related, and more than likely not what they appear. Strawberry was not written to be a pairing fic.

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* * *

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**Chapter Three - The Hellbound**

White.

Pure, pristine white sand. It stretched endlessly, as far as the eye could see, unbroken except for the few twisted, crystalline trees dotting the dunes. She realized they weren't really trees - the surface was cool and smooth under her fingertips, like polished quartz, and it shone in the light from the half moon in the cloudless, starless sky.

It was quiet save for the whistling of a slight breeze, one that brushed her unbound hair and coaxed her to let shut her eyes and inhale. It brought with it a coppery scent, heady and familiar… blood. Odd, considering there wasn't a soul in sight aside from herself, and she wasn't bleeding.

The breeze stilled, and in its place rose a howl, echoing from what had to be miles away. A long, piercing, bone-chilling howl….

A Hollow in pain, instinct told her.

A Hollow that had _lost_, that had been _defeated_, that would be _consumed_….

For some reason she wasn't surprised to have heard it.

As the cry abruptly cut off, she closed her eyes again. It was quiet save for the renewed whistling of the breeze, drenched so thickly with blood if she opened her mouth she could taste it.

Her lips curved into a pleased smile.

This was a good wind.

This was her kind of world.

* * *

Duck under the paw, shift the center of balance, harness the momentum, _spring _- Ichigo vanished from the ground, leaving a mark where her zanpakuto had bit into the dust, and buried said blade deep into the canine Hollow's white mask.

As the fallen soul fractured and dissipated into the air, she allowed the blade to slip to the ground, cradling her left arm gingerly, only now able to inspect the damage.

"Damn." She whistled. "That bitch messed me up good."

"You were cocky." Reappearing from behind the vehicle she had used as cover, Rukia shook her head in exasperation before she trotted over to Ichigo's side and inspected the wound with a practiced eye. "From the punctures it's a bite," she remarked, poking one of the rips, "but that… what did you _do_?"

Ichigo shrugged. "I wasn't going to let it take my arm off."

The disempowered shinigami looked both ways with an expression of one persecuted, before she closed her eyes and refocused on her task, actually jabbing one of her fingers into one of the bloody gashes and peering inside. "I won't be healing this completely. Your stupidity has torn the muscle… and there must have been some form of slow-acting corrosive in that Hollow's fangs or saliva. Next time be more careful."

_A corrosive? _Ichigo's lips twisted in irritation. _Isn't chemical warfare a social taboo?_

There was a sudden, brief surge in reiatsu, and then Rukia's hand lit with a faint glow that spread from her fingers into the bite. Ichigo made a face at the disconcerting feeling of the flesh of her arm knitting itself back together.

The orange-head frowned at her forearm after Rukia took her hand away, scowling. It wasn't quite closed up; the skin was still extremely tender where it had sealed, and here and there it hadn't, oozing blood. She closed her fingers into a fist, and winced when sections of the half healed skin tore apart.

"Really, Ichigo," Rukia said resolutely, "I am not going to exhaust myself just because you feel like being reckless."

Ichigo ignored her. _I need to get this wrapped up so it doesn't tear even more…. _She frowned. Here was a weak spot anyone with half a brain would exploit. _Of course, most Hollows fight on instinct. _A snort. _Which is even worse. _

"Come on, Kuchiki," she said roughly, taking her zanpakuto from the ground to sheathe it, "let's get back to school. Where'd you stash my body, anyway?"

"It's over there," Rukia replied tiredly, pointing.

Sure enough, Ichigo could see a tail of orange hair sticking out from behind the wheel of the disempowered shinigami's choice of cover, and she stalked over, sliding into her body with a hiss of pain. Rukia snickered faintly at the sound.

"Just so you know, injuries you take in your spiritual body accompany you when you return to your physical body."

Ichigo glared at her before rolling her eyes. For someone who claimed to be ten times her age, Rukia more often acted ten times as childish. "Let's get back to school," she decided. _Thank god for Ochi… if anyone else taught, I'd be in detention for sure, and that's no fun. _She shuddered. _Not with that Oshima creep always there. _

Five times. That was how many times Rukia's Hollow detector had gone off in the past day. The day prior had seen no attacks at all, and the preceding night had seen absolutely no sleep.

She wouldn't admit it if asked, but Ichigo was getting a bit worn down. A few fights a week were good, maybe daily if she was lucky, but six or seven during school and during the night? It was absurd.

_I hope it doesn't last_, Ichigo admitted grudgingly. A five-minute walk in silence followed, looping around to the Karakura High nurse's office for some bandages (Ms. Kangofu, the nurse, rolled her eyes and left Ichigo to wrap it herself, muttering about lame ducks while giving Rukia a look of contempt) before returning to the classroom a few minutes after lunch ended.

The sight that met her eyes in the classroom did not please her, but it did wipe any thoughts about the Hollows from her mind.

"Get _off _her, Chizuru!" She leapt forward, tearing the redhead off of Orihime. Chizuru's chin firmly in hand, she howled into her face, "What'd I tell you about touching Orihime, you shameless bitch?"

"You abandoned her, you hussy!" Chizuru retorted, lips twisted into a pout. "Hime's fair game!"

"Orihime's no one's _game_!"

"Except yours? You left her for the new girl!"

Rukia blinked. "…What?"

"Catfight!" Tatsuki grinned in amusement. She shook her head at the disempowered shinigami. "Don't mind them. Chizuru has a huge crush on Orihime - and with the way Ichigo acts… well, it's no wonder she sees Ichigo as competition."

"Rukia? _Rukia_? She's like my _stalker_!"

"Hey!" Mildly affronted, Rukia stepped forward, intent on slapping her substitute across the head; she was instead met with a dismissing smack across the stomach.

_Goddamnit_… Ichigo cringed as she felt still more of the bite gouges tear open, bleeding through the bandages.

"...Ichigo?" Chizuru stared at the cloth as it darkened with blood.

"Ichigo?" Orihime leaned around the orange-head's back, also staring at the bandages in horror. "What happened to your arm?"

Ichigo closed her eyes, and tried to think. The edge of her lip twitched upward. "A dog bit me," she answered, smirking at the disbelieving expression the comment garnered. Sure, there was no real dog in the area with jaws big enough to shred half her arm (and no real dog would ever manage to do anything like that), but the Hollow had been canine.

"A dog?" echoed Kunieda Ryo, looking up from her book. "Of course. Just like Sado nearly had his back broken by having an I-beam fall on him."

"Chad broke his back?" _Chad? Break his back? No way. _

"No." Kunieda looked faintly annoyed. "He came in about thirty minutes ago and tossed Oshima for having a go at Asano and Kojima." She frowned. "Actually, he asked for you."

Ichigo stared. "Eh? What was he asking for me for?" _Maybe someone's pissed him off and he wants to give them a good reason to back off, so he wants me to assist in beating the shit out of them? _

…_Nah. Doubt it. _

"He didn't say," Kunieda replied. "However… he brought something with him when he arrived earlier, a parakeet. I've never met one that spoke so well and so clearly, like a human."

"Like a human?" Ichigo repeated, and a jolt of what was probably paranoia ran through her.

"Yes, like a human. It even introduced itself… by the name of Shibata Yuichi."

* * *

Ichigo arrived home, Rukia trailing behind, to what could only be called chaos. The clinic was swamped; trussed up in her nurse's garb, Yuzu was directing traffic and trying to regain some sort of order up in the front, so that was where she headed.

"Ichigo!" Yuzu greeted her with a strained smile, and then caught sight of movement out of the corner of her eye. "You sir! Please sit down! We're doing all we can!" As the man sat back down, grousing, Yuzu answered Ichigo's unasked question. "There was a huge car wreck at the intersection. Five cars! There aren't enough beds, Dad can only concentrate on the worst while Karin deals with the rest on her own, and I can't help because everyone else refuses to stay put!" She sighed harshly.

Scowling, Ichigo glanced around. As she watched, the same man Yuzu had scolded stood up, crouching down, and tried to sneak off again. _Good, an example_. "Hey you, idiot!"

Yuzu jumped, the man froze and then made a run for it, and Ichigo was much faster.

"Going somewhere?" She smiled slowly, enjoying seeing the man quail.

To her disappointment, the other regained his spine a second later after a brief glance up and down, after his eyes lingered on her bandaged arm. He glanced over at Yuzu, standing, watching, and crossed his arms. "I am going to see my daughter, miss." Polite. "You see, she was injured badly-"

"Do you think I care about your daughter?" Ichigo cut in, not bothering to echo the man's politeness, which bordered on condescension. He stopped, blinking as if struck - the sentiment expressed throughout the room. She gripped the front of his shirt with her right hand, smiling unpleasantly. "But y'know what I do care about? Not much… but one of those is _my sister_."

Two-faced. Where a second before a room full of indignant people gawped at her insensitivity, the murmurs she now heard were of respect. Darling girl concerned for her family. She ignored them, dragging the man the few feet to his seat, since she couldn't lift him with one hand.

"One of those sisters of mine is very unhappy right now, because you idiots refuse to sit still and not be a nuisance," she continued. "That makes me unhappy, too." Grasping the man's chin firmly enough to make him wince, she forced him to meet her eyes, making sure her words were loud enough for the entire room to hear. "But there's one major difference between myself and my sister… if I'm unhappy, I don't hesitate to put an end to the source of that unhappiness. Do you hear?"

"Ichigo," Yuzu cut in. "You can't hurt them. We've few enough beds as it is!"

The orange-head split into a grin. _God, I love my family_. "Who said anything about giving them beds, Yuzu? The chairs work well enough. Now shoo."

The blonde Kurosaki shot Ichigo another smile, this one without the strain of the first, and vanished into the back.

"Ichigo…"

Noting that Rukia (who she had almost forgotten about) seemed a mixture of proud and ashamed, Ichigo set her face in a scowl. _Ain't no way I'm sitting here, peddling to a bunch of whiners… _"Watch them, will you?"

"_What_?"

"Ichigo, there's a big guy out here!" Isshin's voice interrupted the diatribe the disempowered shinigami looked about to spill. "Come on out and help me with him!"

_Ha_! Giving Rukia a smirk, Ichigo ambled out of the lobby, following Yuzu's path to the back. She had to dodge as Karin shot past like a bullet nearly dislodging the sign on the wall detailing the Kurosaki "Motto of the Day," this time reading _Do or Die_. The old fart had an interesting sense of humor at times.

"Over here!"

She looked over her shoulder and blinked in surprise. Of all the people… "Chad?"

Sado Yasutora - known to Ichigo and, thanks to her, most of the Karakura High freshmen class as "Chad" - looked up weakly from Isshin's shoulder. "Ichigo…?"

And no question why… On his back was an awful burn, almost like a handprint. And it _stank_, she realized, hauling Chad's other arms over her shoulder, not able to resist prodding the burn. She couldn't quite pin down the scent, but it was familiar.

When Chad shuddered from the light poke the orange-head whistled. "Some shithead really messed you up, Chad." She split into a malicious grin, and poked him a second time. "Who? Who is it?" A third poke, as they pulled him into one of the last free rooms. "Do I get to bust some heads?"

Chad chuckled weakly, and something slipped from his fingers, landing on the ground with a resounding clash. A birdcage, containing a somewhat ruffled parakeet….

* * *

He was gone. Chad was gone. The idiot had ran off with a birdcage of Hollow bait, a Hollow-inflicted injury on his back not healed in the slightest, and the knowledge he was dealing with something outside of his perception, and he _hadn't even told her_.

Ichigo was not sulking. Irritated, sure. Frustrated, certainly. More than ready to sock the half-Mexican a good one when she got the chance, but that would have to wait. Wait until she found him, which was looking to take a while.

"Shouldn't that phone thing of yours be of help here?" she snapped, stopping suddenly in the street.

Panting hard, Rukia couldn't stop so quickly, skidded into the orange-head's back, making her stumble. "I told you," she wheezed, "It won't…" Gasp. Wheeze. Didn't these shinigami have any fitness training? "…help until the Hollow… chooses to appear." She straightened, though still panting. "Most of the time, Hollows choose to reside in the overlap world, where this realm and the Soul Society meet. None of Soul Society's equipment works there, so the Hollows are safe."

Rukia closed her eyes and steadied her breathing. An amateur technique, Ichigo noted disdainfully, as the blackhaired former shinigami cursed "stupid gigai" under her breath.

Chad wasn't at school. Wasn't at the hospital, and wasn't at home (Rukia had looked at her oddly when she took her there). If it wasn't a Hollow, or she didn't know Sado, she might have decided he had finally grown a pair and chosen to fight for himself… but that didn't matter here. It was a Hollow and she knew Chad. And she couldn't let the fool get himself eaten.

There had to be a way to find him. Even if the Hollow wasn't around yet, it would be soon, and Ichigo didn't want another of those monsters in her territory or after her friends. Karakura was hers, damnit.

She blinked at a flash of… awareness. Chad was to the south. No, southeast. A couple blocks. Not far. She wasn't sure how, but she knew. Too bad it wasn't accurate enough.

Karakura…the streets, the buildings, the parks, the stores: she knew it like the back of her hand, and brought the image - a mental map of sorts - to the forefront of her mind. Like turning on the light in a room that had been dark too long, she was blinded and recoiled, but not before she had a trail to follow, a certainty.

"This way!"

She didn't notice the expression of utter shock on Rukia's face.

* * *

"Chad, he's behind you! Run!"

The voice was high and shrill, indicative of a young age. While young age usually meant mischievousness and tricks, Chad did not hesitate - but instead of running as he was bid, he turned on his heel and lashed out with a great fist.

There was no impact, no resistance to tell him he had made his mark - but somehow he knew.

"Goddamn you, Sado, what the fuck were you thinking by running off?"

Dumbfounded, Chad looked off to the left, where the voice came from. _This isn't good_. Ichigo - for it was Ichigo, as distant and strangely thin as her voice sounded, few girls cursed like her - may love fighting, but this was beyond her. She may see ghosts, but he was fairly sure she didn't see monsters.

_No. It's better to leave her out. _

With that in mind, he turned on his heel and took off in the opposite direction.

"Chad…"

"Yuichi…" he said quietly, "don't worry. I won't let it hurt you." He turned a corner into an alley that led to a deserted lot. "And I promise… I'll save your mother, too!"

* * *

After as much deliberation as could be squeezed into the space of a second, Ichigo made her decision.

His legs. She was going to break his legs. And then she was going to go over him with a fillet knife and dunk him in salt water and styptic (she wasn't going to _kill _him).

She stumbled back in pain, pulling her left arm to her chest. Damn Hollow… and damn Rukia for not healing it properly.

"A shinigami?" the Hollow said. "Well isn't this a treat. It's been two weeks since I had shinigami!"

_Had shinigami?_

_**Rukia, strapped to a table, struggling against the bonds as the girl she had saved cut down through her ankle.**_

"And even better," it continued, voice lowering into sarcastic concern. "Already wounded. Can you even swing that crazy-ass big sword of yours, shinigami?"

_Shit. _With her left arm messed up like it was….

Check that, Chad was going to die.

"I don't need a sword to rip a sissy little cocksucker like you to shreds," Ichigo was quick to rejoinder, eyeing the Hollow up and down. It had the disproportionate body that seemed common among Hollows, the clownish mask, and a strange fur ruff around its neck that resembled a mane; most worrying was the wings, similar to a bat's. It would be hard to fight a flyer in the air.

"_Never fight on the enemy's home ground if it can be helped." _It was one of the few things she had learned from her father (of all people).

Roaring with laughter at her remark, it took a moment to recover itself before it pointed a fat finger in her direction. "The girlie's got _balls_ to back up that reiatsu of hers!" The mask adjusted slightly, portraying a grotesque grin. "What's your name, girlie?"

"Kurosaki Ichigo," she said, shifting her weight. The Hollow was top heavy - better to go low. "And you?"

"I don't remember my name," it said with a shrug. "That last shinigami I ate called me Shrieker, though. Mighty good eating, he was." A predatory grin - Ichigo was unimpressed. She could do better than that one. "Though, I always _did _like strawberries…"

The orange-head's eyes narrowed, and she allowed herself to fall.

_Throw your weight to the side, spin. _

There was a ridge in the ground below. Landing facedown, her palm pushed against it, reversing her momentum, and she lashed out with a kick. Shrieker, unprepared, was caught off-guard and had his leg taken out from under him.

_Roll. Upright, follow up. _

The second kick impacted neatly on the Hollow's mask, but it backpedaled, cutting the force by half; a hairline fracture appeared in the center, but it was otherwise unharmed.

Shrieker whirled around and struck out with an extended wing, while she leapt into the air, flipping to drive her heels into the appendage. There was a satisfying crack of broken bone - or the spiritual equivalent - and it howled in pain and outrage.

"You broke my wing, you bitch!"

She allowed herself a smirk, which morphed into a nasty grin. _Score one for the shinigami… now he's earthbound_.

_Now we're even.

* * *

_

Rukia swore, and then had to reprimand herself a second later for picking up her charge's habits. Why did this "Chad" have to be so fast?

"Stupid gigai," she muttered, already panting. "It has no more strength than the average scrawny schoolgirl! I'm going to kill those research and development freaks - they're all about legs and boobs when it's muscle I need!" She thought enviously of Ichigo's strength - despite her nature, she did have the skill and stamina to back it up - and her stomach dropped. The orange-head's arm was still only half-healed.

She swore again. So much for discipline.

_Ichigo can't play this time… but will she see that? _

Rukia had to get back to the girl, to see if she could help. But first, that meant catching Ichigo's friend and the parakeet, which wouldn't happen if he _didn't slow down_.

"Chad!" Nearly choking from the effort of shouting while running at top speed, she nonetheless saw the half-Mexican look back for a moment. Then, he turned away and sped up.

She was breathing hard and she wanted to just collapse where she stood. There was no way she could catch them. Ichigo would have to understand that.

_And if not… tough luck. _

Rukia laughed tiredly and turned around, reaching out with her senses to find Ichigo.

* * *

"It looks like the girl gave up, Chad."

"That's good."

Slowing to a stop, Chad looked back in the vague direction of where he judged his black-haired follower to be. _That was the new girl_, he thought to himself. _Not Ichigo_. He toyed with the idea that Ichigo had decided against mothering him and to accept his decisions and then discarded it as highly unlikely. That was too logical.

_About the new girl… didn't she follow Ichigo home…? _

"I think we lost him," Yuichi announced, the parakeet's head turning from side to side. "I don't feel him any- _oh my_."

Chad felt a jolt of alarm. "What's wrong, Yuichi?"

"The girl with the orange hair… I felt her too, she's scary… She's fighting the monster…"

_Ichigo's fighting it? _He closed his eyes. She always managed to find a way to lend her particular brand of assistance, but this time, she would be lucky to get away with a few bruises. He had to help.

"Yuichi… where is she?"

The parakeet turned its head to look at him. "Not far… I think the other girl went to find her." As Chad nodded and, placing the birdcage on the sidewalk, began to turn around, Yuichi grew alarmed. "Chad, don't go! He'll get you!"

_That's right; I should leave him with an escape route… _He lifted the birdcage and opened the cage's door, placing it on top of the nearby fence.

"Chad, it's not me I'm worried about, it's _you_! What if he gets you?"

Chad gave him a thumbs-up but did not reply as he dashed off.

* * *

As it turned out, they weren't even.

Bloody and battered, Ichigo couldn't even take advantage of the fact that the Hollow's limbs had all been mangled in some way or another - she was forced to push her body past her limits, dodging, dodging, dodging.

_Allies my ass_, she thought, remembering a comment from the Hollow that it had "friends." Their numbers seemed endless, despite the ones she crushed and the ones that got caught in the crossfire. They actually looked a bit like rabbits until they squashed their heads, showering the area with leeches, of all things.

Leeches Shrieker used as bombs.

_The tongue, the tongue… _

She needed to rip the damn tongue out. Without it he couldn't detonate the bombs.

Out of the corner of her eye, Ichigo saw one of the rabbits begin to fire, and she used a second one as a spring board to get out of the line of fire. Still another leapt at her back, preparing another shot, and she couldn't wrench herself out of the way in time. The leeches exploded at a sound Shrieker made with his tongue, and Ichigo landed painfully on the ground.

"Oh yeah, oh yeah," Shrieker howled. "Did that feel good, shinigami?"

The rabbit sea parted as the Hollow slowly and laboriously dragged its carcass to where Ichigo got to her feet with as much difficulty.

"Silly little strawberry-bitch. I'm going to have fun eating -"

"_The fourth destructive art: Byakurai_!"

A flash of sizzling white lightning cut through the air in front of Ichigo, forcing the Hollow to step back or be jolted.

Ichigo blinked, a little dazed from that last explosion, and followed the bolt of lightning to its originator. "Rukia…?"

All the blood drained from the disempowered shinigami's face at the sight of Ichigo's condition. "My god… _Ichigo_!"

"I know that spell… it's kido," Shrieker remarked. "So there's another one, now?"

"Rukia, watch out - the little monsters spit bombs." Ichigo shook her head to clear it as the disempowered shinigami used a second Byakurai to clear a path to the orange-head. "Fuck, he's all but helpless, but I can't get to him or the zanpakuto…" She gestured vaguely at a mound of the little rabbit creatures that didn't attempt to move or to fire, and spotted another one that was about to. Setting her jaw, Ichigo seized Rukia's shoulder and pulled them both out of the way.

"We need the zanpakuto to finish him," Rukia said briskly, laying a hand on Ichigo's arms and attempting a hasty healing. "I'll clear a path - I should be able to manage _Hinotama_, but I'll need time to complete to incantation…"

Yet another rabbit was setting up to fire - but Ichigo wasn't going to be able to move fast enough, and Rukia, intent on her work, didn't see it.

But a second later, the rabbit was no more, squashed flat underneath to foot of another interloper.

"Uh, new girl... Did I just step on something?"

"Chad?" Ichigo gasped out, never so happy in her life to see him.

The half-Mexican frowned, glancing around. "Where's Ichigo? I can hear her…"

"What?" Rukia looked up, apparently finished, and then down, at the former rabbit.

"Him again," Shrieker groused. "The prick that punched me!"

_Chad punched the Hollow….? _No wonder it had crashed into her like it had. She would have to repay the favor earlier by breaking his arm in addition to his legs. The Hollow wasn't far behind Chad, Ichigo noticed. _Within punching distance_… "Chad, at five o'clock, six feet! Rukia, now!"

Her order gained her a strange look from Rukia, who nonetheless began her incantation, but Chad's momentary glance was at Rukia for mumbling nonsense. He turned on his heel, took a long step, fist extended, and landed the punch directly on its mask, forcing it several feet back.

"_The eighteenth destructive art - Hinotama_!"

A sea of red fire enveloped the little rabbits, and Ichigo lunged forward, grabbing the zanpakuto from the ground and unsheathing in one smooth motion.

Shrieker screamed, he begged, he tried to run as Ichigo bore down on it with the huge blade; she didn't bother to reply, just slashed down through its head, splitting the mask and the body in one blow.

"Rot in hell, you -"

Two huge towering doors, flanked with skeleton guardsmen. They were chained shut with four small chains, but they didn't appear very strong. In fact, they were breaking apart as Ichigo watched.

Ichigo leaped away as the doors exploded open; a giant hand, hefting an equally large blade shot forward from the doorway and speared the still decomposing Shrieker. Laughter echoed from the doorway as the Hollow was pulled inside.

As the blade disappeared, the doors swung shut with a resounding boom, and fractured into nothingness.

Threat eliminated, Ichigo allowed herself to fall to her knees. "What… was _that_?"

"That… was Hell," Rukia replied, and the topic was closed.

* * *

"I just... wanted to bring my mom back," the parakeet sobbed, head hung low in the cage. "And you all got hurt because of me…"

Shibata Yuichi - the soul of a boy, stuck somehow in the parakeet's body in conjunction with its own - had told his story; Shrieker had killed his mother when they were both alive, and had told him that if he would play his game for three months, he would bring his mother back. It was a lie, and had led to many deaths, including two shinigami, but Ichigo didn't really blame him.

_I need to train with handicaps_, she decided after a moment's reflection, stretching her worn body as Rukia tried to talk the boy into going to Soul Society by saying things that could have been in a travel brochure.

"Shibata," she interrupted, "when people die they stay dead. I can sympathize with her feelings for your mother, but you need to get over it."

"Ichigo!" Rukia snapped.

"Shut it, Rukia." She unsheathed her zanpakuto for _Konso_. "Instead of moping and trying to bring her back… make her proud. Now get out of my sight." Despite the roughness, the tone took most of the bite out of the words.

A little wide-eyed, but with a small smile, the ghost of Shibata Yuichi disappeared.

Rukia blinked. "Ichigo… that was almost kind. What's wrong with you? What do you mean, can sympathize?"

"Are you saying I can't be kind?" Ichigo demanded, shooting the disempowered shinigami a nasty glare. But as she stretched, her glare let up. "I'm just in a good mood. Had a good time."

"Had a good time?" Rukia repeated, and her expression said 'what the hell?' even if she would not. "You nut job, you nearly got killed!"

_So easy to distract. _Ichigo smiled slowly, thinly, predatorily. "Well, then I'd have died happy." _It's almost funny. _

"Ichigo, you - you - _arrgh_!"

_But, Rukia… some things are none of your business. My mother is one of them.

* * *

_End third overly canon chapter. Boring (like pulling teeth... only less exciting), but a lot is set up here. I look forward to the next, muhaha. And the one after. 

On Shrieker - his ability could have been extremely dangerous. In canon, he just didn't use it right. _Hado 18: Hinotama_ I made up. Luckily I didn't have to come up with the incantation for it, because it's one hell of a whole lot harder than you'd think.

Sayonara!


	4. The Commander

Finally, chapter four. Wherein I had too much fun.

Fasten your seatbeats, this'll be a bumpy ride. With lots of kick-assing from several avenues. I won't say much else here, but I'll answer some things at the bottom.

**

* * *

**

**Chapter Four - The Commander**

"She's taken over Kuchiki's duties."

"I know."

"Do you think it will be enough…?"

"… I doubt it."

"Such a short time… such terrifying potential. Such power…."

"Trust me, I know."

A laugh.

"You think I don't?"

* * *

Frowning in contemplation, Rukia's dark eyes drifted over her charge's sleeping form, not really seeing anything. It was late in the morning, far past the time she should have been up, but she couldn't find it in her to wake her after the last forty-eight hours. Never in her existence had Rukia known Hollows to congregate in a single area in the intensity Karakura was suffering presently.

_It's unnatural. _

And several of them were unusually powerful. Shrieker himself, while having only been Hollow for less than two months, had overall been a match for a seated officer. Ninth or tenth seat.

Ichigo stirred, mumbling under her breath.

Rukia bit her lip.

Seated officers had an advantage over unseated shinigami - most of them knew shikai, the zanpakuto initial release, even if most of them couldn't use it very well with their meager reiatsu. Ichigo had no shortage of reiatsu, but didn't know shikai existed. And Rukia wasn't sure she dared to tell her about it.

She thought of the kido she had used against Shrieker - the Hinotama alone had probably set her back a month in recovery. Even now, several days later, she had a hard time focusing her reiatsu in all but the simplest of ways. She wouldn't be able to help.

Her hand closed into a loose fist, and Rukia scowled down at it.

_Stupid gigai. _

_It's slowing down. _

_My powers are hardly recovering at all…_

_What should I do…? _

An image formed in her mind of a man with black hair. She thrust it away.

"Never mind," she whispered. Ichigo turned over again, smiling in a way that was frankly disturbing. Rukia didn't want to know what she was dreaming about if it could provoke such a predatory response - her charge reminded her uncomfortably of a… of an animal at times. "I think it's time to go shopping."

* * *

It wasn't until the sun had finally risen high enough into the sky, allowing the rays that pierced through her window to flood her room with unbearably bright light that Ichigo stirred. Perhaps it was the night of uninterrupted sleep, or that her sleep had been one of vague dreams she had already forgotten as opposed to the vivid ones of late.

For whichever reason, it was the first time in three weeks that she had woken up so refreshed.

_Hmm… _Ichigo stretched like a cat, yawned, and looked around. The closet that served as Rukia's bedroom was open and empty, the mats folded neatly and stacked against the wall. _Wonder where she's gone off too…?_

Not that it mattered.

She rolled out of bed and stretched some more, before tearing off her nightshirt and grabbing the most convenient loose T-shirt off its hanger and proceeding to get dressed.

Yuzu had already put away the leftovers and washed the dishes by the time she got downstairs, and she forbid Ichigo to dirty up any more as a punishment for sleeping in, so Ichigo stalked out. Despite being turned away hungry, she was still in a decent mood.

_Where to now? _she thought after a moment, her feet choosing a path on their own.

She needed to drop by Orihime's place sometime soon; it had been far too long since she last visited, thanks mostly to shinigami duties. But as hungry as she was, Ichigo wasn't sure she was hungry enough to stomach the other girl's cooking - and if Orihime heard her stomach growl, the orange-head wouldn't be allowed to leave until she was stuffed.

_Maybe later. _

She could head over to the Plaza. Yakuza and other thugs tended to congregate there, and chances were she would have a good time. On the other hand, if she came home with bruises, Yuzu might refuse to let her eat again. Eleven year old dictator of a sister she was.

Ichigo hadn't left the Kurosaki Clinic with a destination in mind, but when she finally focused on her surroundings, they were familiar. The park bench, the greenery, and the small shrine to a departed loved one - the park that little girl had haunted.

"It doesn't look like she's still around," Ichigo remarked after a cursory look. "Thank god." Apparently, she had been serious in saying she could rest in peace.

If only pacifying ghosts had always been that simple. Some of them had been whiny little bastards. A lot of them actually. Most. But the survivors were often worse - holding on, clinging to a memory in the hope it would somehow bring the dead back to them.

It was pitiful. There was no way to bring back the dead. There never would be, would never be any point-

She caught herself before her line of thought played out, recognizing the rant beginning to build, and scowled. _I'm ruining my own good mood. _

But it was always so _frustrating_….

She had understood the moment her hands had touched-

"Hey Toshi, ge' over it man! S'not been any sign o' her showin' up since t'at time she broke our boards. Don' be such a wussy. 't's just a girl!"

_Toshi… wasn't one of those skateboarder idiots called Toshi? _Ichigo blinked, astounded at her own luck. Perfect stress relief. _I thought I told them not to show back up…. _Apparently, they were even stupider than they appeared, which was no mean feat.

"T'at 'just a girl' nearly broke my jaw!"

"Shu' up, L'il Mitch! Ya don' get the poin'!"

Ichigo never really cared much about grammar - she preferred to let her fists do her talking in a fight - but even she cringed at the butchering of her language. Shit, she had _never _heard such horrible accents.

"Wha' I say is, iffin she does show up again, we don' run like cowards like las' time. 'ere's more of us. I say we rush her! She can' take us all at once!"

"Yeah, yeah! She can' take us all at once!"

That was an opportunity to perfect to miss. Not to mention, that was damn insulting. She stepped out from behind the light pole that managed to shield her from the sight of unobservant brainless idiots. "Oh, I can't, can I?"

There were nearly a dozen of them, and every one lost all of the color in their faces.

Frozen, terrified… _Easy prey. _Ichigo's lips rose into a small, cold, nasty smile. Orihime had once accused her of practicing it in front of a mirror, since it was her automatic intimidation smile and worked so well.

"L'il Kozo," one of them whined, "now yeh've done i'."

That broke the spell of paralysis, and Ichigo pinned the one responsible with as powerful a death glare as she could manage, causing a wet spot to form in the front of his trousers.

_Pathetic. _

Her smile widened, and she shifted her posture slightly just for kicks as the fear built, and beckoned with two fingers. "Weren't you going to rush me? Then come on then, rush me. Beat me down with your collective…" _Just a little contempt. Make them mad… it's so much more fun to break them then. _"…_might_." Ichigo snorted delicately. "If there _is _any."

"You… you…" one of them - Kozo? Mitch? Other? Whatever, Thug One - managed to stutter, shaking like a leaf as he attempted to charge her.

It was laughable, and she laughed as she swept his street fighter haymaker aside, stepping in and punching upwards. The crack resounded through the park, and he collapsed to the ground, clutching his broken jaw.

"You said all at once, but one at a time is fine too." Ichigo shrugged, and beckoned with her fingers a second time. "So who's next…?

"Or do I have to come at you myself…?"

A few punches, a few kicks, and a few nimble dodges that led to thugs breaking each other's noses: it didn't take much until they were down, too dispirited, too terrified to even try fighting. She even rifled through their pockets for good measure - for a skateboarder gang, they had quite a bit.

Folding the yen into her pocket, she turned to leave, in a considerably better mood than the one she had arrived in. "Poor little thugs," she taunted over her shoulder. "If you ever feel like challenging me again, then come back… with some _balls_!"

_Oh yes, perfect stress relief. _

She thought of the money in her pocket. _I wonder if Orihime would like to go out for lunch…

* * *

_

The walk to Urahara Shoten was both short and long, short in distance and long by the persistence of niggling worries. Rukia had tried to preoccupy herself with what she intended to buy, but that line of thought only lead her to the Hollow-tracking phone in her pocket, since she needed a new battery.

From there it was a train. Phone. Hollows. Fighting them…. Ichigo. Shikai - _should she? Did she dare…?_

She shook her head to stave off the thoughts, and forced a smile to her face as she crossed the threshold.

There were the green shelves that lined the walls, the green counters spaced out through the space, and the cash register on top of the counter. All were filled with some form of Material World sweet or another, and there was no way, at the surface, to tell that Urahara Kisuke's candy shop was anything but.

Rukia stepped up the counter, where a redheaded boy sat boredly.

"I can't help ya if you don't have any merchandise," he said rudely.

"I'm not here for candy," she replied tersely, and before the boy could say anything else she continued. "I'm here to see the manager."

"What would the boss want with you?"

Pretending she didn't realize a couple of the more destructive _kido _she knew were alternating with some of Ichigo's tamer curses in the back of her mind, Rukia opened her mouth to retort - only not to have to.

"Jinta… didn't the boss reprimand you for being rude to clients?"

"Tessai!" Jinta's eyes went a little wide. "I was just-"

The huge apron-clad shop hand brushed off the boy's impending excuse with a slight smile. "Miss Kuchiki! What a pleasure it is to see you again." Tessai bowed slightly. "I'll go get the boss for you."

"No need," another voice chimed in. "I'm already here." An engaging smile. "I got a shipment from the other side just yesterday. Well, Miss Kuchiki, what do you need?"

Urahara Kisuke, Rukia thought as she handed her short order to the man, was an enigma. The name and the straw-blonde hair struck her as familiar, but the absurd green and white striped hat, haori, and sandals the ruined any chance of recognition.

"…one kikanshinki celestial text messenger power cell… what grade?"

"The middle grade." The old one had been completely fried trying to replace Chad's memories of a half-dead Ichigo. She hoped it had worked.

"If it works." He tapped a few buttons in the register, raising an eyebrow at the next two entries. "One reiatsu contanobooster? Odd choice. …Sixty somafixer internal soul-fixing medicine? You do know how using them too much is bad for you…? Stay in that gigai too long, and you'll have a hard time coming out of it."

Rukia looked down at her hands. They were trembling slightly, she noticed.

"The gigai… doesn't respond like it should. It's been slowing down. It responds sluggishly. And that's not good." _Not with the Hollow-hotspot that this place has become…_

"I can give it an inspection if you like," Kisuke offered, grinning. She could almost see hearts. "All two hundred twenty-five body parts, for only 3,999 kan-"

"No thanks."

He adjusted his hat, not looking the least bit put out. "So… on your card?"

"No." If the fee was put on her card, so would the merchandise. Rukia held out her tracker phone. "Bonus money." If not one of those scores of Hollows that had appeared in the last few weeks was on the bonus list, she was going to be very irritated.

Kisuke took the phone, clicking through the records. "Fishbone D… none. Acidwire… nope. Hexipoditas… zilch…." He clicked for a while longer, before reading off, "Elysium… two thousand. That was a strange one."

Rukia winced at the memory. Its ability had been to incite feelings of enjoyment, probably in order to make the prey lower its guard. Unfortunately for the Hollow, it had led to a sadistic little cat and mouse game: Ichigo refused to finish it, but also refused to let it escape. She herself, standing on the sidelines, had been little better.

"Hmm…" Kisuke stopped reading off the zeros after about twenty. "Canis, two hundred. And Shrieker… five thousand. Now he was a menace. He ate two shinigami."

"It would have been more if he hadn't been set on tormenting one particular soul," Rukia muttered. After an inquiring look from the shopkeeper she relented and explained. "Shrieker was Hellbound, had been a serial killer during life, but an accident happened and one of his would-be victims killed him. Ichigo and I fought him a few days ago."

She closed her eyes, remembering the condition the orange-head had been in when she had decided to return and help. "His ability… was powerful. And Ichigo had an injured arm from a Hollow earlier that day."

"Was the damage that bad?"

Rukia laughed quietly and humorlessly. "Only because I refused to heal it completely."

Kisuke didn't reply immediately, only fiddled with his cap.

_Say something, why don't you_, she thought irritably. _Don't just sit there_. She felt guilty enough as it was. "All in all," she continued, breaking the awkward silence, "Shrieker was easily a match for a seated officer."

"Strange," commented the shopkeeper. "Stronger Hollows usually stay in Hueco Mundo. Did you go on a raid?"

Thankful for the mild joke, Rukia laughed softly. "Hardly. It seems like it at times, though." She sighed ruefully at the phone Kisuke had handed back.

_With all the Hollows popping up, it might as well be. _

Of course, that led her thoughts back to her charge, and to Shikai. Scowling in frustration, she slipped it back into her pocket - only to hear it beep. With a snarl that caused Kisuke to hide a grin behind his fan, Rukia pulled it out again and read off the description.

_Hoshitaka's Sukiyaki Restaurant? _

Hadn't she passed that when Ichigo had taken her to Orihime's apartment…?

_Oh, no. Oh, no, no, no. _

Rukia wanted to cry - Urahara Shoten was easily fifteen minutes walk from the Kurosaki Clinic, in the opposite direction from the restaurant, and if Orihime got injured….

"Something wrong, Miss Kuchiki?"

"Ichigo's at home," Rukia admitted frankly, face in her hands. From the slight crinkle of his eyes, she was certain he was laughing at her. In his head at least. Either that or smelling the colors, she added darkly.

"In that case, Miss Kuchiki, I think I can help you."

* * *

As it turned out, Orihime was unable to resist the prospect of gorging herself on Hoshitaka's delicious sukiyaki - Ichigo had the shabu-shabu instead. It wasn't breakfast food, but then, it wasn't really breakfast time, either.

"…and it was like this big, big, _big _monster jumps out at me and yells 'I _am _your father, Orihime!'"

Ichigo smiled indulgently; Orihime's hands had gradually picked up speed, making wilder gestures as her story progressed, and now they were flung wide and her face was upturned, as if she were offering praise to some higher being.

Orihime's dreams were always strange, but as vivid as dreaming life itself - it actually reminded the orange-head of how most of her dreams had become.

_Like half-lucid glances into worlds come and gone, and those that would never be._

Almost like Shakespeare, she thought, rolling her eyes at her own melodrama. _Almost like - _

She froze.

It was faint, so faint. But she could feel it.

It was a thousand icy fingers, running up and down her spine, exploring her body, making her sick; it was a thousand newly-forged daggers, knifing at her temple, digging through her mind, leaving her violated; it was a thousand fangs, tearing into her stomach, into her core - ripping her apart.

Harsh and ragged, she forced herself to breathe as the sensation retreated, until there was nothing left but a feeling of hollow victory that wasn't hers.

"Ichigo?" Orihime's hand on her shoulder brought her back to the concrete, back to the view of the skyline from the roof of Hoshitaka's. "Are you okay?"

_That was… a Hollow. A powerful one. _

Ichigo swallowed and focused on returning her breathing to normal. It took a few breaths.

_A dangerous one._

"Yeah, Orihime," she replied, "I'm fine." The expression on her friend's face said she was not convinced. "Why don't we go-"

There was no time to go anywhere, as an explosion rocked Hoshitaka's and knocked them both to the ground. Orihime landed roughly on top of Ichigo, and followed her line of sight, squinting.

"Now that…" Ichigo muttered, stunned, "is one ugly son of a bitch."

She couldn't figure out _what _it was… unless it was a great, undulating mound of testicles.

"It's a tentacle monster!"

Despite the situation, despite that Orihime shouldn't have been able to see it, Ichigo couldn't help but burst out laughing - for a few seconds, at least.

It lashed out with a tentacle hardly a second after she had started laughing at Orihime's remark, but not fast enough that she couldn't maneuver, to take a blow that might have broken some of Orihime's ribs. In her place her body buckled, caught by the wrist before it flew over the side of the restaurant.

The orange-head skidded on the air, coming to a rough stop before leaping back onto the roof, sliding the zanpakuto from its sheath.

The Hollow was not like Shrieker.

Ichigo wasn't sure whether to be thankful or annoyed.

"Well," she commented wryly, casting a reassuring smirk at the white-faced Orihime. "That was convenient."

* * *

When she saw the garganta form in the air above Hoshitaka's Sukiyaki Restaurant, Rukia despaired - Ichigo would chop her to mincemeat, zanpakuto or no zanpakuto.

When she saw the immense size of the Hollow that appeared from it, she thought she had a reprieve… maybe she'd be eaten instead. Oh, if only, if only.

Then, she saw both Ichigo and Orihime on the roof, not ten feet from the Hollow, and revised all of her previous thoughts.

After a one hundred and fifty year stay of execution, and despite that she had never been a Hollow, Hell had finally taken her. There was no other excuse.

The stark white Orihime clutched Ichigo's lifeless body with the desperation of a drowning woman to her last buoy, the only thing keeping her afloat amidst a sea of terror, while Ichigo's spiritual body dodged inside and outside of tentacles, hacking away with abandon… were Orihime not there, in potential danger, Rukia figured the orange-head would have been dancing in joy.

She could imagine the words now.

"_Finally a foe with some kickass regeneration to make up for no fighting skills!"_

Rukia snorted despite herself.

_But if she has to keep defending Orihime, things could turn nasty really quick. _She bit her lip, wishing she had learned more than the basics of _Hoho_, fast movement. If she could just get Orihime away, everything would be so much simpler…

As it was, without even the reiatsu to force the gigai to higher speeds, without being able to fly… there was no way she would manage to get to the roof, let alone away with Orihime.

_How did they get up there anyway?_

She looked more closely at the girl with the long, orange-brown hair, and felt ice solidify in her stomach.

_And why… does it seem like… she's following Ichigo's movement…?

* * *

_

Well, dancing with a monster that could regenerate every limb she slashed away had seemed new and interesting at first, but it was getting old fast. She wanted to see some blood, dammit. Some actual damage.

It was annoying - every time she made progress toward actually hurting it, the fucking blob would go after Orihime, and she would be forced to abandon her advantage to protect her.

Ichigo hated the few fights she had to undergo with Orihime at close hand.

_Move, idiot. Get away! _

_I can't fight like this. _

And the traitorous thought.

_I'm better off without you. _

She quashed the thought with a vengeance and an internal snarl that left her as a shout. "Orihime - don't just sit there like a corpse! Get outta here!"

"But Ichigo-"

"_I said 'go'!_" the orange-head barked, letting her frustration flood into her tone.

Orihime flinched as if she'd been struck, gathered up Ichigo's body like an overlarge doll, and stumbled across the dismembered, strewn-about limbs over to the piece of roof that overhung the trash receptacle that served as an excellent ladder to Hoshitaka's roof. A few tentacles followed her, only to be cut away as well.

Much better.

As her lips drew up in a nasty grin, she ducked under a flailing tentacle and jumped over a second, and gripping firmly with both hands and spinning on her heel, Ichigo buried her zanpakuto down to the hilt guard into the Hollow's glutinous body, and tore it out the side.

For the first time, as the blood flew, it let out a scream of pain.

_-ON'T WANT TO DE-_

_-thetic piece of human ex-_

Ichigo stumbled backward, wrenching the zanpakuto from the monster's bulk, and a hand crept from the hilt to her temple as her eyes squeezed shut in a vain attempt to blot out the pain. _What is this…? _It hurt like no attack she'd ever borne.

_-ifteen seconds. Can't you do bette-_

_-not the only one hurting-_

_-AT'S WRONG WITH YOU?-_

_-YOU CAN'T-_

…_**seem to handle this on your own. **_

Her eyes shot open once again - in time for her to dodge one big-ass tentacle. The screaming faded to the background for one glorious mental moment, before it surged forward again.

_-tch. D'ya think you cou-_

_-truth, Inoue, you are-_

_-dealistic fool-_

_-hate you!-_

_-I WANT YOU GONE!-_

She could feel the ribs crack under the next onslaught. _Want this gone? _she thought savagely at the last. _I want this gone. _For a moment she managed to crack her eyes open, dodge an attack.

_-diculous. Can't you d-_

_I want it stopped. Now!_

_**Want it stopped, do you? **_

And it was gone again, just an annoying buzz at the back of her head. She sidestepped, and the huge tentacle went flying. Before she could press her attack, however, her second voice - her conscience, or whatever, because the conscience wasn't suppose to annoy you unless you felt guilty about something - spoke up again.

_**Wanting is pointless. Useless.**_

_**No enemy will relent because you want them to. Would you desire such?**_

An enemy that so easily bent to her wishes…? No, she wouldn't. If one did… she would be infuriated.

_**Then what is it you wish?**_

There was a beat where the world stood still and time stood frozen as she thought.

_I wish… for the power… to establish my place. _

_**And what is that place?**_

The thudding of her own heart resounded in her ears as she thought, and a half-forgotten joke from four years prior sprung to mind.

_Comandante._

She had the vague impression of a predatory smile, reflected by her own lips.

_**Then conquer them. Command them. In my name. **_

_**And side by side… we will carve our pathway, until that power is yours. **_

Time began to move again.

"_Ordenar _- _**Zangetsu**_!"

For a heady second, she felt a premonition of white and silver and black, and power flowing through her body and in her hands, sword burning cool, wreathed in light, before metal twisted and moved under her fingers.

Ichigo hefted the overlarge cleaver, with its black blade and dark red edge and brilliant bright scarlet bandages wrapping the hilt and settling around her neck like a scarf, and surged forward. In one slash, the cleaver did what the sword could not - and bisected the Hollow down the center.

_**Have no fear, Ichigo… **_

It shattered into millions of shards, proof of a successful kill.

_**I will never leave you to want for anything.

* * *

**_

"What just… _happened_?"

_I don't know. _

"I think it's gone."

_But what was it? _

"But Ichigo… that's impossible."

Orihime smiled. _Kurosaki Ichigo - making the impossible possible since birth. _That should have been the orange-head's slogan, or at the very least on a warning sign strapped to her back. She giggled at the mental picture.

"That's shikai - the initial release. But she doesn't know how!"

_Initial release…? _

Blinking, Orihime pondered for a moment on whether poking the much smaller girl out of her shocked daze would result in better information, before deciding it would only prove detrimental.

"And the release command… _ordenar_…"

_It's Spanish_, she thought helpfully as Rukia dropped to her knees. She had hung out with Chad enough thanks to Ichigo to get a feel for the language.

"…what does it mean…?"

Of that, she wasn't entirely sure. She would have to ask.

"And _what _is _that_?"

"Rukia, that's… rude…" She followed the smaller girl's line of sight, and found herself swallowing her reprimand.

It was a white blot on the roof of Hoshitaka's Sukiyaki Restaurant. A white blot, more specifically, in human form and a starch-white version the strange outfit Ichigo now wore, with snow-white skin and hair the same color that fell over the figure's forehead and cast a shadow upon where the face would be.

_It looks like someone drowned it in a bleach bath…_

"That's…impossible…."

Orihime looked at Rukia a second time, registering the stark terror in her face, and wondered just what Ichigo had pulled this time. She sighed. Couldn't the orange-head keep it down to one impossibility per day, at least?

* * *

"How… odd."

He was a threat.

No matter what his posture read, he was a threat.

Ichigo knew. She herself had pulled that particular "I'm harmless" trick several times. She tightened her grip on her zanpakuto. Zangetsu was its name. _Zangetsu_…. She hadn't been aware zanpakuto had names, or that they could transform.

Damn Rukia. Just what else had she neglected to say?

The hilt cloth unfurled from its position draped around her neck, tripling in length in a second to circle around her like a protective shield, dribbling a thick red liquid that looked like blood unto the restaurant's roof. Aside from congealing, it didn't seem to have any effect, but instinct told her that the blood was more than for show. Much more.

The white figure tilted his head to the side thoughtfully, and his hair parted enough to allow her a look at his face - if it was a face. It was the same stark white as the rest of him, flawlessly smooth… almost like a mask. But she couldn't see a line where it met the flesh, unless it was perfectly along the jaw line….

"Yes, very odd." He seemed to be examining the bandage. "And at the same time… so very clever."

It made her feel like an exhibit at a museum. Responding to her irritation, a swath of bandage extended from the guard, swooping around the figure as if to capture him - only to pass through him as if he were smoke.

_What?_

A fraction of a second later the white face - mask? - was inches in front of her own, and a sharp pain erupted in her stomach boring, drilling, stabbing through and out behind. Her scream of pain was rather strangled, as the force pitched her forward into the white shihakusho.

He pushed her off none too gently, and the bandage wrap cushioned her fall and coiled tightly around her abdomen, hiding the baseball-sized hole.

Standing several meters away as the afterimage in front of her blinked away, he shook his head.

"Irritation is not a reason to instigate a fight far beyond one's skill."

Ichigo cringed, and not only from the pain. _God, but that was stupid! _If unintentional. The grip on her shoulder grew slightly firmer. _**You will learn control**_.

"However… I have faith in your rate of evolution."

It might have been a compliment, if the tone hadn't been so hideously - poisonously - amused. He looked away for a moment, then made a vague motion in the air beside him. "This has been most enlightening, but I fear there is more I have yet to do. _Hasta luego_."

She opened her mouth to comment, but he disappeared into the patch of air with a faint black afterglow.

"That… _fucker_. He walked out on me!"

The only one who heard was herself, and she heard a faint laugh in reply.

The hole in her stomach was strangely numb.

* * *

"Oh dear." Urahara Kisuke shook his head at the empty air where the white figure had stood and disappeared, and smiled engagingly at both girls. "It looks like Miss Kurosaki is in a bad way."

"In a bad-" Rukia repeated, voice shrill. "_In a bad way_! Kisuke - you _saw _that - that was _bala_! And that thing, it was-"

_Poof_.

"Miss Kurosaki… just had a bit of difficulty with the Hollow, right, Miss Kuchiki?"

Orihime blinked at the smaller girl's slow nod and blank eyes, and glanced in alarm at the small gizmo in the strange man's hand. He smiled.

"Some things aren't meant to be known," he said rather cryptically. "So why don't we see to your friend over there? That attack blew a hole through her abdomen."

* * *

"Orihime!"

"Isshi-daddy!"

"Orihime!"

"Isshi-daddy!"

"Orihime!"

Ichigo shuddered. _Make it stop. Make it stop, I tell you!_

"Strawberry," Karin whispered, mirroring the shudder at her own seat at the kitchen table, "I think I hate you."

Yuzu looked away from the spectacle, which was statement enough.

"I think I do too," she replied miserably, toying with her takoyaki, and then raised her voice. "Orihime! Freak of nature! _Cut it out_ - some of us are trying to eat!"

She was ignored. Whining slightly, she cursed Inoue Kakei in as many ways as she could manage for attacking while Orihime was at home. If she hadn't been kicked out, Ichigo wouldn't have to put up with this.

"Isshi-daddy!"

"Orihime!"

"Isshi-daddy!"

She flinched, and tried to think of something, _anything _else.

The first thing that came to mind made her frown in contemplation.

_Hasta luego… doesn't that mean "until we meet again"?

* * *

_1.) **Where's Kon?** He's not here - last chapter, the danger was not from if Shrieker had gone hafter Ichigo instead, but that Rukia overdid herself with kido. In the Karakura arc of canon Bleach, Rukia's a very retroactive person. Here, getting some Soul Candy didn't occur to her. Pity, because it'd be dead hilarious to see what Kon would do, at large in a female body. 

2.) **Ichigirl's growth rate - WTF?** Shikai already. There's a reason. Remember, what growth she undergoes now she won't gain later. Zangetsu, you'll notice, is different than canon Zangetsu. Since Ichigirl is vastly different that canon!Ichigo in most places but similar in some, I don't find this unrealistic.

3.) **Whitey-chan**. Muhaha. Shouldn't be hard to figure out what he is, but why he's there... hm. It does not bode well. For anybody. Except for a short cameo, you won't see him again for a while. BTW, Whitey-chan's not his name. You'll learn it when Ichigirl does (that is, far in the future).

4.) **Kikanshinki don't hypnotize!** Usually, but this is Urahara. I don't put it past him to modify one to his tastes.

5.) **Spanish terms...?** "Hasta luego" literally means something like "until then," but I _think_ it's often used as Ichigirl assumes (don't quote me there). "Ordenar," as you may have guessed, is "to command." I left it in the infinitive form, mainly because wasn't sure whether you'd conjugate using "yo" or "tu." "Comandante" means "commander," though I think it can also be used for similar terms. Hey, take it easy, I've only studied Spanish for a few months, and not anything detailed.

6.) **WTF was with Isshin and Orihime in that last scene?** Come on. Anyone who knows anything about Naruto... can you _not_ see Isshin and Orihime pulling a Gai and Lee scene? I certainly can, and I don't even know much about Naruto.

I rgubj that just about covers the basics... I gave a lot away in this chapter. A lot. Enough that had I not been having so much fun, I'd be biting my fingernails to nothing. Tell me what you think!


	5. Memories in the Rain

Memories in the Rain... In which Ichigirl is moodier than she has a right to be, overly violent, bordering psychotic, and self-absorbed.

Boy. Worse than usual, ain't she? Hey, though, she has a reason.

_**

* * *

**_

_**Chapter Five - Memories in the Rain**_

"_Is she okay?"_

_It was raining. _

"_Oh, no! What happened here…?"_

_The warm droplets dribbled through her hair and down her back. Rain. _

_And on her hands, though the rain had mostly washed it off. Blood._

_Her mother's blood._

"_Are you okay?"_

_No. She'd never be okay. _

_Not until she saw _her _corpse. _

That was the beginning.

* * *

"Ichigo! Ichigo, wake up - we'll be late for school!" 

Hands attempted to pull off the covers, but Ichigo snarled sleepily and fought back, pulling them over her head and kicking in the vague direction of the nuisance. A satisfactory _oomph _told her she'd made her mark, and her lips upturned.

"Rukia, she won't get up…"

She felt a jolt of alarm, but couldn't figure out why.

"Then kick her. That's what Mr. Kurosaki does."

"Kick her? But that's mean!"

"It works."

"…Really?"

Still half asleep, Ichigo frowned, and then snorted as she felt a light impact, more like a shove.

"Orihime!" The voice sounded exasperated. "You have to hit harder than that… like _this_!"

Instinct took over as she felt a hostile force approach, and Ichigo flipped out of bed, catching the incoming foot and twisting it, landing roughly with her attacker pinned and yelping in pain.

"Damn you, Ichigo!" Rukia shouted. "Let go of me!"

She blinked as the haze of sleep finally drew back from her senses and found she had pinned the disempowered shinigami's leg against her back. It wouldn't have been painful for her - but Rukia was just about crying, so she got off wordlessly, shooting the dark-haired girl a glare, and moved to get dressed.

Orihime watched the exchange with wide eyes, and then giggled nervously, scratching the back of her head. "Well, I'm glad I didn't kick any harder…"

Rukia straightened up, holding her leg gingerly. "What was _that _for?"

"You tried to kick me," Ichigo replied flatly, opening the closet door.

"Your father does everyday!"

"And I beat the crap out of him, too." She frowned. _Wonder what's with the old man? Usually he's brutal. Unless…_ "Orihime… what day is it?"

"It's… June sixteenth, Ichigo."

The orange-head stiffened, and she ripped a shirt off its hanger with unnecessary force, not even bothering to look at it. "Nearly that day already… the time's flown." _And I haven't forgotten. I will never forget. _Pulling it over her head, she turned to look at Orihime, who looked back with that uniquely sympathetic - but not pitying - expression only she had.

The dark-eyed shinigami glanced between the two unsurely. "Nearly what day…?"

"Rukia," Orihime started, waving her hands in a hopeless gesture, "it's nothing…."

"No." Ichigo silenced her friend with a gesture, staring Rukia down. "I'm taking tomorrow off."

"You can't-"

"I _will_!" the orange-head snapped. "Tomorrow, I'm not your substitute. None of us will be home."

She expected another indignant retort, and was taking aback when Rukia just went quiet, gazing at her contemplatively. _What now? _

"…Why?"

"Rukia-"

"Tomorrow…" _It's none of her business. What a bitch_. "Tomorrow is the anniversary of my mother's death." At her widened eyes, Ichigo shook her head and laughed harshly, feeling old anger rising in her chest. "No, better yet… the day she was _killed_."

The day she was killed.

Ichigo pulled on a pair of pants in short order, slipping on her shoes. It was slightly difficult, with the familiar rage hovering in the back of her mind, causing her hands to shake and her mind to wander.

But no. She needed to calm down. The only rage in a battle was cold and focused. No matter that she had never fought that battle, maybe never would-

_I will!_

-but she could not walk into one with it throwing off her judgment.

A phantom hand pressed down on her shoulder, with it a sense of affection and steely determination.

Feeling herself relaxing, Ichigo smiled slightly. _Thank you.

* * *

_

Mercurial.

It was the only word she could think of to describe her charge today.

She flew from one end of the spectrum to the other in seconds; from broody and silent, to a creepy degree of happiness, and to terrifying shows of temper and downright cruelty. Ichigo was always a bit moody, but this was just strange.

_No, better yet… the day she was killed._

Rukia bit her lip. The orange-head was nibbling on her lunch disinterestedly, clearly back to brooding after a stunning screaming fit with Chizuru over Orihime that had just about had the lesbian sobbing. It would have probably turned into a bloodbath had the girl herself not intervened.

_Day she was killed…_

Orihime sat by Ichigo's side, not saying a word, but leaning against her shoulder in a gesture that Rukia supposed was comfort, and Chad had for once abandoned Asano and Kojima to sit a few feet away from the orange-head. She found it odd.

Ichigo wasn't someone to take emotional support. Rukia was surprised she hadn't blown her top over being - dare she say it - coddled.

_Day she was… killed._

Chad was the first to see the shock of bleach-orange hair and tensed up, rolling to his feet. Orihime followed his gaze and ducked her head, not quite managing to hide her sigh.

"Ichigo…" she whispered. "Please… just ignore him."

When Ichigo glanced up, the look in her dark brown eyes was not encouraging.

His name was Oshima Reiichi, if she remembered correctly. Her charge had referred to him as a creep, which, Rukia, supposed, worked just as well. She certainly wasn't going to argue, and not only because she agreed.

"Oshima." There was a tight note in Ichigo's voice that suggested only Orihime's little entreaty had prevented her from saying something significantly more rude.

His face lifted into a smile that made Rukia's stomach turn. "Heya… baby. You look like you've got _needs_."

Rukia blinked in confusion. Needs? Everyone had needs. But from Orihime's sudden decision to hide her face in Ichigo's hair, she figured Oshima's use of the word was for something different from the dictionary definition.

Ichigo's eyes narrowed almost imperceptibly.

Oshima either didn't realize it or ignored it. "How about we have ourselves some alone time and work out those kinks, then, babe?"

_Is this guy a masochist? _Rukia wondered. Was he asking to get beat up?

Ichigo was on her feet in the space it took Rukia to blink, but Chad had superimposed himself between the bleach-head and the natural orange.

"Chad… get _out _of the way."

She admired how Chad didn't even flinch at the tone. With what she had seen of the orange-head today, if Ichigo had used that tone on her, Rukia would have been running in the other direction.

"Oshima," he said quietly, "leave."

"Got outta my way, Sado," Oshima snarled. "It's what she wants, so-"

"Chad. _Move_."

Rukia shivered, hearing the red-hot fury coming to life in her charge's tone, seeing her free hand ball into a fist. For a few seconds Ichigo's body seemed to shake, before, like having water thrown on the fire, the anger died down, only expressing itself in her smoldering eyes.

Chad seemed to study Ichigo for a moment, seeing that at least for a while, the orange-head had managed to calm herself, and… stepped aside.

"Now why don't we go have-"

"Oshima." She delivered his name like an order for silence. "The only thing I want from you… is your ass smeared from here to the Plaza, and to never see your face again."

The bleach-head grew angry. "The only ass that'll get smeared is _yours_, bitch. You should count yourself lucky I want to fuck you!"

Rukia's jaw dropped. _**That's **__what he was referring too? _Slightly green, she didn't say a word as Chad seized Ichigo's shoulder to hold her back, and Orihime dropped in a rough approximation of Ichigo's stance and lashed out with a vicious kick.

Oshima let out a scream as he clutched his assaulted privates and stumbled off, blowing a blue streak that was nearly as nasty as Ichigo's on a bad day.

The orange-head dropped back to the ground with a scowl and an expression of illness Rukia understood all too well, and Orihime and Chad followed her lead and sat back down. Orihime wrapped her arms around Ichigo in a hug.

Leaning back onto thin air, Ichigo's eyes slid shut.

_I expected her to try and murder him_, Rukia thought dryly, and then frowned as both of Ichigo's friends fixed their gaze on a point above and behind the orange-head, nodding and smiling respectively. She squinted at the spot, and seeing nothing, felt uneasy. _What are they looking at…?

* * *

_

June seventeenth.

Orihime admitted she felt somewhat like an outsider.

Karin and Yuzu were mostly their normal selves, and Isshin was even less normal, but Ichigo, she didn't think had spoken a word all day. Somehow she wasn't surprised.

June seventeenth. The day Kurosaki Masaki was killed. Or so Ichigo had said.

Orihime had no idea who supposed to have been Masaki's murderer, but she did know that her death had been the catalyst for who Ichigo had become. She did know Ichigo had adored her mother, until a stupid mistake had brought Masaki to Ichigo's protection, an act that had resulted in her death.

She did know that Ichigo had seen the one who had killed her mother. And she knew what had become of Ichigo because of that.

Tatsuki had told her about Ichigo prior to Masaki's death, and a single, traitorous part of her wished that she had known that version of her instead of the one that was now her friend. Thinking about that made looking at the silent, brooding Ichigo fill her with guilt.

But if knowing that innocent, carefree little Ichigo would have put the same underlying strain in their relationship as it had in Tatsuki's… Orihime was glad she hadn't met her then. Despite everything leading up to it, her friendship with the orange-head was a constant she couldn't live without.

She smiled softly at Ichigo's back, and nodded at the haze she could perceive, offering steady hand to help hold back the dam far too overfilled with pent-up emotion.

It was something she could never do. It made Orihime feel a little jealous.

"Ichigo?" The voice of Karin interrupted her thoughts.

The orange-head tilted her head to show she was listening.

"Isn't that the girl who's taken to following you around?" Karin asked. "Don't tell me you invited her, too."

"Who?" Ichigo asked, speaking for the first time, before glancing in the direction of Karin. Her body went very still. "No. I certainly didn't. So why don't I go _clear this up_?"

Startled, Orihime followed their gaze, and saw Rukia standing at the base of the hill they had just climbed, waving cutely. She swallowed and took after Ichigo.

Karin looked after them in surprise and some alarm. "Don't kill her, Strawberry."

* * *

"Stupid Ichigo…" Rukia bent down nearly double, clutching her chest and panting. "Just stay home! Stay out of my face! And don't you dare follow!" Out of breath, she had to take a pause to breathe in needed air. "Don't you realize that Hollows won't go on vacation just because you do?" 

"If it was a vacation, I'd understand that!" Ichigo snapped back. "As it was, I asked. _I even asked! _For you to keep the fuck out of my personal business!" _I don't want you here, don't you understand that!_

"Ichigo, please calm down," Orihime whispered, gripping the orange-head's arm. "I'm sure she was only doing what she thought was the best."

"It doesn't matter what _she thought_ was the best." Snorting, she pulled her arm free and crossed them. "Some things are _personal_. You know, meaning, 'relating to one person's private life'? Did your quest for 'contemporary vernacular' overlook that?"

"I _understand _that." Having mostly caught her breath, Rukia straightened, clutching the nearby tree for support. "But what you don't understand is that you're visiting a _graveyard_. Cemeteries are prime Hollow hunting grounds."

_No shit Sherlock. _"You think I'm stupid?" She turned on her heel. "I know that. More dead bodies mean more ghosts, and more ghosts means more Hollows. I've never been attacked here, and even if I was it wouldn't matter."

"You might be able to deal with it, but what about your father? Your sisters?" Rukia threw her hands into the air in frustration. "Your spirit energy draws Hollows like honey attracts flies! I wouldn't be surprised if this _murderer _of your mother was one as well! Do you want the rest of your family to-"

_Oof!_

Before the shinigami could finish speaking, Ichigo had hoisted her into the air and slammed her against a tree. As Rukia's hands desperately pulled at her fingers and Orihime rushed over to try and help her, she leaned over until they were virtually nose to nose.

"I know _exactly _what it was that killed my mother," she hissed. "I remember a pathetic little girl covered in her mother's blood and the rain falling on her back. I _saw _that bitch and her _pet_."

She released Rukia's neck after a bit of prompting, letting her slide to the ground.

Spinning around again to stalk off, Ichigo shot one last thing over her shoulder.

"And when the time comes, if you even try to get in my way…. You'll die as surely as she will."

* * *

Orihime bit her lip, looking worriedly between Ichigo's retreating back and Rukia, who looked panicked and about to cry. 

"What's _wrong _with her?" she demanded weakly. "I'm just - trying to help!"

She smiled softly, sadly. "I don't know much about what happened the day Ichigo's mother died," Orihime admitted. "But Tatsuki told me Ichigo adored her mother, and when she was killed it destroyed her. She said that, even in just a few months' time… you couldn't recognize her at all." She shook her head. "And it just kept getting worse. And worse. It was a very bad time for Ichigo's family."

Rukia breathed in and out with a long, shuddering gasp. "But… haven't you been friends for three years?"

Orihime looked away to hide the dark look in her eyes. "Three years…?

"Not really."

"Damn her. Damn her!"

Ichigo kicked at a stray tombstone, sending loose rocks flying.

"Fucking bitch. My family is none of her business!"

_Do you want the rest of your family to - do what? Die? Everyone dies. Get eaten? Not much difference. _

_Either way, it's not happening. Not when I can stop it. And I can stop it now. _

"I won't let them get hurt."

The weight settled on her shoulder again, soothing. But underneath the calm was an equal anger, anger spurred by the shinigami's words, cold but not quelled. That, more than anything, was comforting. She leaned back in the air, and imagined she could feel her back resting on a chest.

Ichigo closed her eyes, lips twisting upward into a bittersweet smile. It had been so long since she had been able to depend on someone unconditionally. Trust someone unconditionally.

Her hair rustled in a breeze that wasn't there, like a gentle breath on her neck.

_**Always…**_

Her eyes slid back open, studying the deep blue sky, obscured here and there by fluffy white clouds.

_So unlike that day… _

But before she could work herself into a proper brooding mood, the call of a whistle cut through the air, and Ichigo's head snapped in the direction it had come from. Isshin's black hair caught her attention as the whistle sounded again, and she grudgingly decided to meet up with her family. Rukia was on her own.

_Or rather_, she added bitterly, _she's with Orihime. _

Her feet picked a path through the graves that was free of any upright stones, which was probably a good thing, because otherwise she would have broken her toes trying to knock one down.

Yuzu's eyes were already swollen from crying, something that made Ichigo stomach turn with emotion, and Karin was trying to talk her out of bursting into a second round of tears.

"Ichigo," Isshin said quietly, for once serious, "do you have anything to tell Masaki?" He gestured with the hand that wasn't cradling a whistle shaped like a chicken.

She nodded as her eyes fell upon the simple grave marker, striding forward with light, inaudible steps to drop to her knees in front of it and duck her head.

_Mother…_

The long, wavy dirty-blonde hair and the constant smile. It was funny how fine the details were, there in her memory.

_Everyone's doing fine. _

She imagined the vision's lips moving, replying.

_I'm doing better… Mom. I think… I'm getting close. _

And slight sadness entering her eyes.

_I promised. I won't rest… until I avenge you. _

A steady, sad smile.

_I know, Mom. I remember what you said. _

Ichigo saw the lips move again, and laughed lightly. The sound wasn't one of humor.

_I suppose, in the end, it makes me a bad daughter. That I couldn't obey even your last request. But I couldn't, and I can't. _

The smiling face tilted slightly, eyes filled with entreaty.

_I'd be lying if I said I'd try. _

They clouded over.

_I've lied to you far too often the past years…_

_I think it'll be over soon, Mom. _

_Maybe then… when I see you in my mind's eye, you won't be covered in blood._

Ichigo's lips curved, her eyes opened, and she stood again. A hand dropped on her shoulder, and she jumped, because for once it wasn't the phantom weight that was Zangetsu but solid flesh. She looked back to see her father, smiling.

"Say your peace, Ichigo?"

Catching the subtle inflection, she shook her head slowly. "No. Just a bit more honest than I usually am."

She missed the fleeting disappointment in his eyes, before it vanished like dust in the wind. Instead of saying anything, he tackled her to the ground, sobbing uncontrollably.

"My big baby's growing up!"

"Get off me! And I'm not a baby!"

"Ow! Ichigo, don't hurt daddy! Or daddy hurts back!"

Before the usual father-daughter spat could escalate, Ichigo's head shot upright, as she sensed a slight chill beginning to circulate - a familiar chill. She scrambled to her feet, disentangling herself from her father and hastily dodging the kick that would have probably broken her nose.

_Hollow. _

Kurosaki Isshin watched her retreat with a quietness that got both Yuzu's and Karin's curious attention, glanced at the simple grave marker, and nodded solemnly.

* * *

It seemed quiet. 

Rubbing the place on her neck she knew was going to bruise, Rukia was actually beginning to wonder if she had braved Ichigo's wrath for nothing. As insensitive and as juvenile as it sounded, she would be rather annoyed if a Hollow didn't attack, because it would prove her charge right.

And then she would just be insufferable, damn it.

Rukia palmed her face, laughing quietly as she thought about how her new vocabulary would be thought of back home. Not well, probably. She could just imagine…

She had no idea how Orihime had been friends with Ichigo so long and managed to not pick up any of her profanity.

_Not really._

Hadn't Ichigo and Orihime been friends since the death of Inoue Kakei? Hadn't he asked her to take care of her?

How could someone be "not really" friends, and be like the pair she knew?

It made no sense, but Rukia knew better than to ask. If Orihime had felt like telling, she wouldn't have been so vague in the first place.

The girl in question hadn't spoken much since their brief exchange, instead staring away in the distance, towards a small cliff-drop, lips set in a slight frown. There was the occasional wince and flinch, and the rarer giggle; she seemed to be lost in thought.

Rukia wondered what she was thinking about. _It can't be pleasant… maybe she's thinking about her brother…_

Whatever the topic of her thoughts was, it was starting to make Rukia feel uncomfortable.

_Why does it have to be so quiet?_

Why couldn't anything break the silence?

Orihime frowned thoughtfully at whatever she was looking at. "Where'd she come from?"

Rukia blinked. "She who?" When she glanced toward the cliff-drop, she answered her own question; a girl with strangely cut hair and equally strange dress, gazing over the edge as if contemplating jumping off. Her first thought was it with either a Hollow or a ghost, but she had neither hole nor chain. "Is she going to kill herself?" Suicidal souls were always the worst, and the drop would be enough to break her neck.

"We should stop her!" Orihime decided, getting to her feet.

_If it keeps us from having to deal with one of them now… _Rukia echoed the action, and stumbled after the younger girl, cursing the gigai's lack of dexterity as she nearly tripped several times.

"Hey, person I don't know!" Orihime shouted, waving her arms frantically.

The girl wasn't the only one to jump, and the disempowered shinigami looked up at her companion in disbelief. _"Person I don't know"?_

Orihime grabbed the girl's shoulder as she opened her mouth to speak, frowning down at her in a scolding manner. "You're not going to jump off, are you?" She poked the girl on the shoulder with a finger as the other backed away. "You shouldn't kill yourself! Then you'll cause trouble for all the dead people!"

Rukia, in the midst of standing up, fell over again, and stifled a giggle at the girl's stupefied expression and Orihime's own completely serious one.

"Trouble for the dead?" the girl whispered, splitting into a monstrous grin. "You can see me… you touched me and you hear me."

_Oh no… _Horrified, Rukia saw the gaunt, grinning skull-mask coalesce behind the girl, right as the tracker phone began to beep. "Inoue, don't just stand there! Run!" _I can't fight it; I never had a chance to ask Ichigo to fill the contanobooster…_

_Damn._

Orihime had only backed up a few steps, staring in shock at the looming figure behind what they had thought to be a suicidal girl.

"And you can see that, too?" it asked rhetorically, the psychotic grin only widening. Behind it, the Hollow's fur hardened into a corkscrew, shooting forward. "My, you two must be talented! I simply have to eat you now!"

"_Inoue_!"

For an instant she saw a bright glow beginning to emanate from the girl's hairclips, before with a scream and a sudden blinding orange the corkscrew was knocked away.

* * *

_It's her. _

Ichigo tightened her grip on the fur corkscrew, countering the effort the bitch's pet was using to get around her defense.

_Back again. _

For a second Ichigo dared to glance away from the bitch to give Orihime a reassuring smirk, before she grabbed her around the waist and leapt away to a safer distance.

_On this same day. _

"I told you, idiot," Rukia muttered, pulling on the bright red skull-emblazoned glove she used to punch out her soul. "I told you it was likely there would be an attack."

Ichigo ignored the shinigami. "It's the bitch again," she said by way of answer. "The bitch and her pet…. Rukia, get Orihime out of here."

"Ichigo," whispered Orihime, glancing back and forth between the orange-head and her prey, "you mean that they…?"

"Strange," the bitch remarked. "You recognize me, girlie?" It hardly blinked as Ichigo's body collapsed to the ground, revealing the shihakusho that marked her shinigami.

"Recognize you, bitch?" she said softly, feeling, strangely, the usually raging anger turning to ice in her chest as she reached back to grasp Zangetsu's hilt. "Oh, I recognize you all right." The bandage circled around her lazily, bleached almost white, as she brandished the large cleaver in front in her.

"Six years ago," Ichigo continued, voice gaining strength. "Six years ago, you took my mother from me, you fucker!"

_And I swore… I'd kill you. _

_Today is the day you die._

"Down by the river, in the pouring rain... I saw you."

"_**Hey mama. Look over there!" **_

"_**I don't see anything, honey. Maybe it's a ghost." **_

"_**Maybe. Mama, she's just staring at the water. Can I push her off?"**_

"_**Ichigo, even if she's dead, she doesn't deserve that. Why don't we go talk to her?"**_

"…_**Why?"**_

"_**Maybe we can find out what's bothering her."**_

"_**She should get over her bothers by herself, Mama."**_

_**A light laugh. "But not everyone is strong like you, Ichigo. Come, let's go talk to her." **_

The bitch tilted her head to the side curiously. "Saw me did you? You're lucky, then. But this is the second time, and you're beyond luck now." The pet began to move, fur extending, entangling, but Zangetsu's blade flashed and blood flew through the air.

"I'm still reminiscing, asshole," said Ichigo wiping away a drop of blood from Zangetsu, silently apologizing. He had the blood of trash on him now. "You know what strikes me as funny about the whole thing?"

Apparently learning from the first charge, the bitch didn't reply.

"I wanted to knock you off the pier, but Mom tried to convince me different." Ichigo heard a sharp intake of breath, and she leveled a glare toward her friend and the shinigami, neither of which had left. "She thought we should just talk to you… and as we were walking over, your bastard pet ripped her in two." Her grip was so tight her hands hurt. "Her body fell right on top of me, shielding me from the second blow… it only knocked me out.

"And when I came to, it was still raining and my back was wet. Only that wasn't rain, it was blood. My _mother_'s blood.

"I loved my mother, _bitch_. I loved her… more than anything.

"And you killed her."

The bitch smiled. "Well, if that wasn't a soap opera moment, I don't know what one is. But perhaps I ought to enlighten you a bit." Ichigo's eyes went wide as the bitch's face split down the middle, still grinning, and both bitch and pet spoke in eerie tandem. A tentacle spouted from the bitch's cranium, threading into the pet's. "This isn't my pet… this is _me_." Where the bitch had been was only a crude doll.

"Grand Fisher." Rukia ripped a sheaf of paper from her phone. "A well-known lowlife… has evaded the shinigami for 54 years."

"You're breaking my heart, girlie," Grand Fisher drawled.

"Fifty-four years, you say…?" Ichigo smiled thinly, discarding the shock for later. "Good for me then. Wouldn't want to go through this entire substitution thing without screwing the system over once."

"And how do you intend to do that, girlie…?"

_Zangetsu…?_

Warm, strong hands encompassed hers. Missing completely the astounded looks on both Grand Fisher's mask and Rukia's face and Orihime's shudder, she murmured, "Tell ya a secret? After that, I made a promise to always go with my instincts. Doesn't mean I haven't slipped up every now and then… but by and large…" The smile blossomed into a nasty grin. "And my instincts are screaming for me to kill you in as painful a way as possible. And I have just the way."

She flipped the blade upright, unbothered by the gobs of fur that hardened into spears and corkscrews and the claws that followed as the Hollow tried to stop her.

_**Two halves of a woman, bleeding onto the child huddled underneath her. **_

_**Blood on her hands, tears mixing with rain. A vow. **_

"_Sangrar_… _**Zangetsu**_."

The wrap bloomed scarlet, bright and wet as when she had first called Zangetsu's name. The bandage whipped around hovering, dripping in the air in front of Ichigo, before it lashed out to meet the assault.

The bloodcurdling scream that followed wasn't hers.

The laughter, however, was.

* * *

Ichigo hated the rain. 

That was why, as Orihime watched the battle, not that the word actually fit the complete and utter beat down the monster was receiving, she was glad Ichigo didn't see the stratus clouds gathering in the sky above, dark and promising the weather condition she hated beyond any other.

_It's like… the heavens sympathize with her. That it rains today, of all the days, first with the death Kurosaki Masaki and now with that of her killer. _

"_**I promised myself I'd always go with my instincts."**_

Guilt curled in her stomach. She'd thought - she'd thought - oh, but for shame. Ichigo had a reason. Always had a reason, and she knew that, but it had made her remember.

Orihime watched in silence as the bright scarlet cloth wound through the air like a flying serpent, dripping something that looked like blood and ate through the monster's flesh like acid, and as Ichigo followed the bandage with the giant cleaver-sword, destroying whatever defense could be formed with ridiculous ease.

Within minutes, the suffocating cloth had spun itself around the monster, offering no escape from the torment as screaming, howling and begging for at least some measure of mercy, the rest of its body was eaten and dissolved.

Rukia, she saw, was torn between shock and disgust and an odd measure of understanding and sympathy.

"That zanpakuto… Zangetsu. Slicing moon. But sangrar…."

That term she knew.

"Sangrar," Orihime murmured, "means 'to bleed.'"

Rukia glanced curiously at her, but she didn't say anything more.

Ichigo was looking as her, and Ichigo was smiling. For real.

Orihime burst into a smile in answer, and cheered.

* * *

"Talking to Masaki again, Ichigo?" 

Ichigo didn't look up from the grave marker, but traced the name with one finger.

_It's over, Mom, over the day it began. His name was Grand Fisher, according to Rukia. _

_He's dead now. I avenged you. _

The Masaki of her memory smiled. There was a touch of an emotion she could not decipher in her eyes, but Ichigo didn't mind.

The blood was gone.

Perhaps, in a way, she had taken the blood onto herself, but she could deal with that. Her mother was no longer stained, and Ichigo had never pretended to be lily white.

_He is dead_, she thought as she opened her eyes and allowed her mother's image to fade into the depths of her mind.

_But truly, mother, it's far from over._

_I'm sorry for lying again, mother._

_Truly, it's only begun. _

_

* * *

_

Ominous words.

Next chapter: The world is kicked up into high gear. Literally. Rapid POV switching, Ichigo running her mouth (when does she not?), Ishida taking offense (understandably so), Rukia kicking ass (preSS arc, no less) and complaining about algebra. SC6 - The Bow and the Blade.


	6. The Bow and the Blade

Chapter Six, beginning the Quincy Archer Hates You arc, and some _very_ rapid POV-switching.

**_

* * *

_**

**_Chapter Six - The Bow and the Blade_**

Moonbeams shone down from the great crescent moon, catching what must have been dust in the air and lighting the desert with ambient glow that made it possible to see despite the eternal night. The sand beneath her feet was soft and the air was just right, not cool, not warm.

Breathtaking.

For once in her life, Ichigo wished she had paid more attention to the teachers of her languages classes, because no matter how much she raked her mind, that one word was the closest she could come to describing the world she stood in, if only in her dreams.

"Do you like it, Ichigo?"

Somehow, despite the abrupt disruption in the dead silence she enjoyed, Ichigo managed not to jump. Maybe it was the voice, deep and familiar. Maybe it was that when she turned around, it was to a face that she didn't recognize, but that she _knew_.

"Zangetsu?"

He smiled slightly, and nodded.

"Do you like it, Ichigo?" he repeated, seriously.

She took her time in answering, studying the human avatar of her zanpakuto. The long, wavy black hair looked like it had gone through a windstorm, hanging wildly around his face, framing a chin slightly dark with stubble, and his clothing was black as well, if indistinct, like smoke. She frowned, wishing his eyes weren't hidden by a park of dark sunglasses, and looked away.

"What's not to like?" Ichigo muttered in the end, and a soft breeze whistled through the still air, ruffling her hair almost affectionately.

Zangetsu accepted the answer with another nod and slight smile, stepping silently forward until he was right behind her.

Wordlessly, and almost unconsciously, Ichigo leaned back into his chest for his support, and they stood there motionless.

-

"Okay, okay, Rukia, we're in the middle of nowhere already, it's lunch, and Tatsuki's the only one holding off Chizuru. Just what do you need me for, again?"

Rukia glanced around suspiciously, as though expecting some hoodlum to jump out of the shadows at any moment, and Ichigo rolled her eyes. The alley was deserted, and the only people who ever showed their faces were the type of thugs she made examples of in the Plaza.

The ex-shinigami apparently decided they were safe from the great beyond, because she looked Ichigo solidly in the eyes and put her hands on her hips. "I need you to help me with something."

Ichigo blinked.

All the drama - and missing lunch, and letting Chizuru run around free - for that?

She felt almost cheated, but before she could voice her thoughts Rukia rifled through the small pack she had and pulled out, not the tracker phone, but a long, thin rod that reminded Ichigo of an empty thermometer, or maybe a wand.

"This," she shook the rod for emphasis, "is a reiatsu container and compression device, more commonly referred to as a contanobooster. The shinigami use it to store spiritual energy for use in large operations, such as binding and executions, during which using their own energy might prove hazardous."

"Executions? What do they use it for, shove through someone's hearts? 'cause a blade would work better." Ichigo looked at the rod with some disdain. "I'd be surprised if that thing could hold the amount of energy in my toenail."

Her eyebrow twitching, Rukia slammed the rod down on Ichigo's head, making her yelp in pain and surprise. _I didn't even see her __move_, the orange-head thought in alarm, rubbing the place she was sure would bruise.

"For your information," snapped the ex-shinigami, looking satisfied, "just ten of these things, when filled completely, are enough to hold back the total power of a _million _zanpakuto."

There was silence.

_Just ten of them, hold back a million of Zangetsu?_

"Whoa."

Rukia smiled.

Ichigo frowned in reply, annoyed that the disempowered shinigami was trying to copy her style. "So. What _do _you need me for?"

Dark eyes dropped. "I ordered this from Kisuke a few weeks back, actually. After the incident with Shrieker." She crossed her arms. "The kido I used virtually exhausted my reiatsu, to the point that even now I can hardly feel any power. At all. I meant to bring it up after Grand Fisher, but it kept slipping my mind. But that Kan'onji incident was too much.

"I need you to donate some of your reiatsu for me to use, in case you're not nearby. I'm completely defenseless."

The orange-head nodded thoughtfully. She hadn't attended Kan'onji-idiot's little show, and had sandal-hat's employee not been a fan, it was likely several people would have died.

Orihime had been there, too. If Orihime had died, Kan'onji would have been swift to follow.

Rukia looked faintly surprised by this easy acceptance. "What, no arguing?"

"No." Did the ex-shinigami think she lacked common sense? If it was the only viable option, Ichigo could deal with it. "Just a question." Besides, as much as she wanted to bitch-slap the shinigami at times, she owed her. "This doesn't have any… lasting effects, does it?"

This time it was an honest smile. "No, there's not. Your spirit energy will replenish itself after a while." She exhaled loudly. "But in order for you to fill it, I'm going to have to teach you to control your spirit energy, at least a little."

Ichigo frowned at the set look on her face. "Think I can't do it?"

"Don't be insulted," Rukia said dryly, "but you bleed off reiatsu to a point that it's a wonder everyone in Karakura can't see ghosts. You have absolutely no natural control at all." The contanobooster was tucked back inside the pack. "In short, this is going to be a nightmare."

Her voice took on a lecturing tone.

"The most elementary form of spiritual power manipulation is, quite simply, to _turn it off_…."

They missed the rest of school that day, and the only thug that decided to show its face didn't have much of one left after Ichigo's reiatsu exploded into a nebula of black and red.

"_You idiot_, we're trying to make it so you can _use _kido, not for you to _invent your own_!"

"I'm _trying_, damn it, so just _shut the fuck up_, okay!"

-

Rukia sighed, looking darkly at the celestial text messenger in frustration. "Never mind, Ichigo, let's get back to class. It's gone."

"How many times does this make, Kuchiki?"

She closed her eyes. "Too many. The stupid thing must be malfunctioning."

Ichigo agreed.

The number of Hollows hadn't lessened over the last few days; the tracker phone still went off every few hours. Ichigo had gotten accustomed to it, actually, so the fact that 75 percent of her prey ended up disappearing before she could have her fun was really starting to piss her off.

Some creep was in her territory, doing her job.

Like Kan'onji had tried to do.

_Whoever this fucker is, they're gonna mess up_, she thought darkly, scowling. _Then I'm gonna mess **them **up._

"Sulking, Kurosaki?"

Ichigo's head shot up and she turned on her heel in a flash, and brown met dark blue framed by black hair.

"Or should I say…" the boy continued, adjusting his square-framed glasses, "_shinigami_?"

_What the fuck? _Rukia exhorted a tamer version of the orange-head's thought, wide-eyed in panic. Conversely, Ichigo's eyes narrowed. The boy's posture was one of poorly concealed threat.

"I'm Ishida Uryu," he announced with casual coldness. "Quincy. And I _hate _shinigami."

"What?" demanded Rukia, already reaching for the contanobooster, and the orange-head seized her arm in a warning to shut up.

"Well that's too bad," Ichigo retorted. _Yup_, she thought in satisfaction, _he messed up. Idiot revealed himself_. She allowed her internal nasty smile to show on her face. "Because, Ishida Uryu, Quincy - whatever the hell a Quincy is - _I _hate _you_." She caught the brief flicker of gob-smacked shock that crossed his face, expressing itself mostly in his eyes, smirked, and jerked the disempowered Rukia behind her, stopping only to pass another careless remark over her shoulder. "Interfere in my business again, Ishida, and you'll find I don't need shinigami powers to kill useless little bitches like you."

"_Ichigo_!"

If Ichigo had been watching, the abrupt surge of fury in Ishida's blue-black eyes would have put her on her guard.

-

_Quincy. _

Rukia glanced at the silent, black-haired boy's back, biting her lip. _Quincy. The word is familiar…._ The back shook a little, the head tilted downward, so that he could look behind in Ichigo's direction. She could imagine his eyes narrowing into a hateful glare, and wasn't up to refuting his anger.

_Ichigo really needs to learn diplomacy_, she thought, and rolled her eyes; the orange-head learning diplomacy was about as likely as the captain of the eleventh division putting aside his sword and becoming a healer.

Her eyes dropped, gazing unseeingly at the paper before her, filled with scribbles about nonsense that had her utterly lost. Derivation of the quadratic formula by way of ax² + bx + c 0? Rukia stared blankly at a "product of the roots" equation - _negative b plus the square root of b squared minus 4ac all over 2a multiplied by negative b minus the square root of b squared minus 4ac all over 2a_. Ochi had said that it ended up c over a, but Rukia wondered how they had arrived at this… thing to begin with.

No wonder the material world was so messed up. She preferred things that made sense. Like the theorem of maximum and minimum spirit energy conversion in relation to _kido _and the other forms of shinigami reiatsu manipulation.

'_Quincy. And I _hate _shinigami.'_

Just what was a Quincy? Rukia recognized the word, knew she'd heard it before, but she couldn't place where or what.

_Maybe Kisuke would know…_

The shopkeeper had told her to ask if there was anything she needed to know, so maybe she could ask him? Rukia nodded to herself, satisfied with her chosen course of action.

And while she was at it, maybe she could ask him about this stupid algebra.

-

"You're going to go watch Tatsuki train?" asked Ichigo, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

Orihime smiled sheepishly, scratching the back of her head. "I haven't been to watch Tatsuki in weeks," she explained, the words almost getting mixed on their way due to how fast she spoke. "She asked me to spar her last time! I didn't, but I was thinking about maybe joining in…"

"You'll spar with them but not with me?"

Irrational, irrational. Ichigo tried not to feel slighted when her friend winced. As arrogant as it sounded, she knew she fought on a different level than the sissy tournament-fighters in the karate team - they fought with pretty techniques and complicated strikes, too slow and weak to be of use, meant to simulate a kill but not actually injure. Those who fought in the streets knew how to use a technique, when to use it, in what case it would inflict maximum damage.

And she herself had little to no reservations of inflicting that damage. She merely didn't bother… the thugs she ran into were either smart enough to get out of her way, or pathetic to the point crushing them would make her feel dirty.

Orihime, however, was different.

Scowling, Ichigo let her gaze drop to the classroom floor, to the window that allowed the afternoon sun to spill in, to Ochi's empty desk. Rukia would usually be waiting to walk home with her, but she, too, had expressed a desire to go somewhere. Urahara's, she thought the former shinigami had said.

"Ichigo…." Orihime trailed off.

_She looks… sad. _Ichigo snorted, all too aware of the guilty knot that formed in her stomach. _She and Tatsuki are close. She should be okay. The only thing liable to attack her is Chizuru, and Tatsuki can deal with it. _"…Tatsuki'll walk you home then?"

Orihime's eyes opened wide and the tilt of her mouth widened into a huge, happy grin, before she shot forward, pinning Ichigo in a rib-cracking hug. "Ichigo, thank you! Yes, yes she will, and we'll talk and laugh and I'll tell her the story about the great silver who committed suicide in the lands of the king!"

…_the story about what? _Frowning as she squirmed out of her friend's painfully tight embrace, Ichigo ignored one of Orihime's odd mentions for favor of grasping her shoulders. "And when you get home, I get to listen to how you kicked Tatsuki's ass, okay?"

"But Ichigo, Tatsuki's butt is below the belt! It's a formal spar; I can't hit there!"

Ichigo stared dumbly for a second, rolled her eyes and pushed her toward the door before she changed her mind, and scowled when Orihime's giggle confirmed her suspicions.

Tatsuki was so going to get her ass kicked for putting Orihime up to messing with Ichigo's head again.

The orange-head followed her friend out the door, waving half-heartedly as she skipped out of sight. Turning away with a scowl, Ichigo thought of going to see Chad, but realizing he had left to visit some older friends of his, redirected her feet to the Plaza.

_Gods, I need to kill someone. Something. _

She was not sulking, and she wasn't in denial either.

The abrupt grip on her shoulder was her only warning, and she stopped dead in tracks just in time, before a bolt of bright blue energy tore up the concrete in front of her. Whipping around, reaching back for a hilt that wasn't there, Ichigo met the cold eyes of Ishida Uryu.

"Not need shinigami powers?" he said, tone low and taunting. A long pillar of glowing blue energy, almost like a spear, was held in his right hand, and she narrowed her eyes at it warily. "It seems to me that you need them really badly, _Kurosaki_."

_He's close enough I could toast him. _Ichigo considered tossing one of her mutant _kido _his direction, and then decided to wait. First to figure what his weapon was. It _looked _like some form of jousting weapon, but he held it wrong; and the bolt from earlier had been almost like an arrow. A bow?

"After all," he continued, "you don't seem good enough for anything else."

_Fucktard. _

A swirling mote of black and red exploded into a firestorm Ishida hardly managed to dodge.

"You seem awfully insecure, Kurosaki," he said in retort to the attack. "It doesn't take much for you to blow."

_Stupid, self-important shithead! _Ichigo focused on her own reiraku, willing them to coil tightly over her torso, letting her body slump to the ground. She had the pleasure of seeing the shock cross the "Quincy's" face as the dark red bandage unfurled to reveal the massive cleaver blade.

"Only as insecure as you are skilled," she snapped. "That thing of yours… it's a bow, isn't it? Some mutated knock-off of the daikyu."

"It is a form of Quincy reishi weaponry." Apparently ignoring the insult, Ishida pulled back his hand, a bright blue arrow appearing for emphasis. Unfortunately for him, his eyes gave him away. "It is called Kojaku."

"Kojaku… lone sparrow? Something like that's too pretty to be useful." Ichigo rolled her eyes as red cloth settled comfortably around her shoulders, and snorted at the long gouge in the sidewalk. "Zangetsu could do much better."

Amusement twinned with smugness and a quiet warning not to underestimate the "Quincy" made the side of her lips twitch upward.

"I'm not so sure. How about we have a little contest then?" Ishida replied. "My bow and your blade."

"Contest?" _Ain't got anything better to do… should be fun. _A challenge was usually skewed in the challenger's favor, however. "On what terms?" It probably wouldn't matter; at first glace, Zangetsu looked like a pure melee weapon, which would fail against a long range type, like the bow.

"Only this." The boy held up a small round disk, and crushed it between two fingers. The breeze picked up the dust, blowing it over the city. "It's so simple, Kurosaki, even you can understand. Whoever kills the most Hollows wins."

_What the hell do Hollows have to do with a fight? _

"Or can't you?" Ishida looked poisonously amused. "The powder was Hollow bait, idiot. It's spreading all over town already, I would say." To prove his point, a monster resembling a centipede stuck its masked face out from a jagged black hole. He let his arrow fly, obliterating the Hollow from over fifty feet away in one strike. "So run along now, shinigami, and hope your _sister _doesn't get killed."

_Karin! _And Yuzu, despite she could only see ghosts vaguely. And… _Orihime…_

This had not been what Ichigo had had in mind. "Do you even realize what the fuck you've done?" she shouted.

"Scared, Kurosaki?" Ishida taunted, drawing back his bow and killing another Hollow. "Then just stand there. _I _will protect the town from the Hollows."

_Protect Karakura. My Karakura. No way. No fucking way. _

"When this is over, Ishida…" Ichigo turned away, red cloth growing wet and beginning to drip as it lifting from her shoulders, not meeting Ishida's gaze. "There won't be enough of you cremate. Remember that."

_Hollows go after those with high spirit energy. _

_Karin. Orihime. _

_Damn it!_

The bandage curled around a third appearing Hollow. After the screaming faded, a few drops of dye dropped to the ground and spattered like blood on the sidewalk.

"Impossible…" The wind caught Ishida's whispered words. "The amount of reishi in the air has dropped by more than half…."

-

Rukia stalked up to the front door of the Urahara Shoten with crossed arms, brushing past Ururu and ducking under Jinta's swipe with the broom. Crossing the threshold, she looked around for Tessai, but the aproned man was nowhere in sight. Inadvertently letting slip an Ichigo special, she took a breath, and yelled.

"Kisuke, get _out here_!"

"Ow!"

She jumped at the yelp from behind her, and whipped around.

Urahara Kisuke massaged his ear, pouting at her like a child. "You didn't have to _yell_, Ms. Kuchiki," he whined. "I'm right here…" A roll of the eyes and snort later, the shopkeeper grew serious. "What do you need?"

"Answers," said Rukia shortly, and briefly outlined their encounter with Ishida Uryu, Quincy. The wince when she recounted Ichigo's callous words wasn't heartening. "Kisuke… just what _is _a Quincy?"

-

"If I'd known I'd get stuck cleaning up glass, I wouldn't have come," Chizuru complained, sweeping several of the slender shards into a dustpan. "I only came because I heard that Hime planned to spar you."

"Yeah," Tatsuki admitted, also sweeping. "You missed it. She's rusty, that's true, but still good enough to make everyone else jealous."

"I can't believe I missed my Hime, all hot and sweaty…."

Bam.

Chizuru clutched her broken nose, glaring hatefully at the other girl.

Tatsuki glared right back. "Have a little common decency, Chizuru. Just because Ichigo's not around doesn't mean you can get away with being a shameless hussy."

"What's wrong with wanting to see Orihime?" demanded Chizuru, and started to say more, only to be interrupted by a badly stifled giggle. "Hime? Is something wrong?"

_Is something wrong? Yes, something's wrong. _Orihime scratched her head, hiding her distress behind sheepishness. "It's just… Ichigo probably expects me home soon…" It was the wrong thing to say, however, as both of her companions' expressions darkened, and the redhead begin muttering things Orihime was relieved she couldn't hear. "But it's okay! I…" She floundered a bit. "I promised Yuzu I'd help make dinner!"

She didn't think they believed her, as she nervously swept up the worst in her corner and dumped in it the bin. _We have to get away…. _

-

"Come on, Sado. We'll miss the discount prices if we're not careful, and _you'll _have to pay the extra yen."

Chad frowned, not only because he didn't have any money but also because of a nasty feeling of unrest in his gut that screamed that something bad had just happened, and it was only growing worse. It reminded him uneasily of the scraps of hazy memories of the parakeet he had speaking like a boy and pleading to be protected from a monster. Somehow Ichigo was connected to the memories, but he couldn't recall how.

"I don't have any yen," he started to say, only to break off as to his right, a line of windows shattered in succession, showering them all with glass.

"What just-"

Chad lunged forward, grabbing both Shigeo and Harutoki and pulling them out of the way as the road cracked and split under some great force.

Above the cracked pavement was only a blur.

-

_School's out, so Karin should be home by now…_

Ichigo ripped through two Hollows that had tried to get the drop on her, and continued on her way without missing a beat.

Home with Yuzu, who could see ghosts as well, however indistinctly.

_Damn it, Orihime, if only you'd gone home…_

_Why'd you have to pick today of all days?_

Whether she was asking Orihime about watching Tatsuki or Ishida about taking leave of his sanity, Ichigo herself wasn't sure. Slicing through another Hollow, she decided not to think about it.

-

She had lost count of the amount of beeps the celestial text messenger had sounded in the last minute. Far too many was her consensus.

"Damn you!" Rukia spat as a flailing fist nearly tossed her into a deadly attack with what was less like teamwork and more like dumb luck. She pressed the contanobooster firmly against her wrist and forearm, pirouetting over another assault, kicking off a third to gain extra height. "The twenty-first destructive art: _tosatsujo_!"

It was extremely gratifying to see the innumerable scarlet blades of energy shoot up from the ground, skewering numerous Hollows. Landing nimbly on a clear patch of ground, she span on her heel to meet an airborne Hollow. "The fourth destructive art: _byakurai_!"

The sizzling bolt dealt the Hollow eternal peace, and she whirled around again, unable to stifle her grin. Oh, how good it felt to be able to fight again…

_I never realized how much I missed this…_

A _Sokatsui_, a _Shakkaho_,and a second _Tosatsujo _later, Rukia frowned as the crowd of Hollows finally began to disperse.

_There's something very wrong with this picture. I need to find Ichigo._

-

Uryu had lost count of how many Hollows he had killed. His fingers were bleeding to the point where he could hardly form the arrows, despite the air being charged with more and more reishi with every shot he made. It was a self-defeating cycle; the more he killed, the more free reishi in the air, the more attraction for Hollows, the more he had to kill….

He hissed in pain as he let fly another arrow, tearing further at the soft pads of his fingers, and remembered Kurosaki's face, Kurosaki's taunt, and stiffened his pride.

He would not lose to the shinigami. Never.

-

_Where is the end of them? _Nowhere, that Ichigo could see. _Fuck, but it's like for every one that dies, five more pop up! What am I, the spiritual equivalent of Hoshitaka shabu-shabu? _

Despite her internal monologue, the grin on her face was wide and true.

_Damn but this is fun!_

-

It took a grand total of five seconds for Chad to lose control of the situation.

Mainly, an outburst of seed-like projectiles that he hardly managed to dodge. Shigeo and Harutoki weren't so lucky.

And now, they stood against him.

-

Finally they were leaving. Finally. Away from the monster that was stalking them. But Tatsuki had to change out of her gi, had to backtrack, and now they had stopped. Stopped, in the open, with plenty of places to run; Orihime had made sure of that at least.

"Hime?" Chizuru peeked at her from over her shoulder, expression concerned. "Are you feeling well?"

_No. Not well at all_, she thought, eyes fixed on the malevolent spirit. In fact, she was feeling distinctly queasy, but Orihime only smiled back. "Don't worry about me, Chizuru, I'm… fine…."

Feeling the Hollow's presence disappear, her eyes snapped back to where it had been, where it had vanished from. _Where did it go? Where is it? _

The concrete rose and buckled, and Orihime only had enough time to wrench herself and Chizuru backward before it crumbled, long, snakelike thorned vines breaking through and rising into the air.

"Hmpf. Missed. Too bad." They coiled and congealed, the bone-white thorns coalescing into a pale mask over the head of an indistinct body. "But I can deal. You can see me, can't you, little human?"

_Oh, no. Oh, no, no, no… _Ice solidified in her stomach, and she wished desperately that Ichigo was there with her. _But she's not… _Orihime took another step back, and screamed. "Run, Chizuru!"

"But Hime-"

"_I said __**go**_!" Startled, Chizuru stumbled backward, confused, and turned to flee as ordered.

The monster split again, burrowing deep underground, surfacing under the redhead's feet. The vines whipped around her legs, tearing in and tearing out, reducing the muscle to shreds as they worked their way up her body.

Orihime gasped in horror as it curled tightly around Chizuru's throat, cutting off her tortured scream. "No…." As she blinked, as her eyes filled with tears, her knees collapsed out from under her. "No… Ichigo… Ichigo please…" The tears began to leak from beneath her eyelashes. "Someone help!"

As if in answer to a prayer: "What's going on here?"

"Tatsuki!" Orihime glanced up, filled with hope that was dashed a second after.

She didn't see the vines tighten, but she felt it when the blood spattered all over her.

"_Chizuru_!"

-

"Pops… I feel sick…. Why do I…feel so sick…? Like something's wrong…"

Isshin tucked Karin into bed, taking the cloth rag from Yuzu to mop her face gently. "Nothing's wrong, Karin… It'll all be okay…"

_It had better, Urahara. Or so help me…you die. _

_

* * *

_

Oh noes! Did I just kill Chizuru?

Ah well. Orihime's trial by... er, plants is going a touch worse this time around. Chad's going mostly the same (thus he gets a bit shunned...), Rukia's having fun and cursing the fact Ichigo's rubbed off on her, and Ishida's not having a good time. Ichigo? Well. She might be having just a little too much fun.

Next chapter: And They All Fall Down, the conclusion to the Quincy Archer Hates You arc and the Karakura arc in general.


	7. And They All Fall Down

And here we are... the end of the road. For the Karakura arc at least.

_**

* * *

**_

_**Chapter Seven - And They All Fall Down**_

It was dark. The underground corridor had no light but that cast by the stone walls, it in itself a dull, smoldering red where it overtook the black. He didn't find it discomfiting; he was used to it. If anything it was the unusual brightness that took him aback.

Garganta were being overused today, and it was no question why.

Hollow bait. Thick, undiluted, processed reishi equivalent. He recognized it, recognized the scent. He remembered it, even if he hadn't smelled it in centuries. Perhaps because it hadn't been released in so long, it was surprisingly potent. Enough to send many solos running, enough to make the gillians sit up and notice; the latter was a miraculous feat in of itself.

He shook his head, the slow movement not disturbing a strand of fine white hair.

All of the garganta were focused on one particular place.

"The foolishness of youth," he murmured, darkly amused. "In any case, the results should be most entertaining, either way it goes."

-

"Chizu… Chizuru…."

The redhead's body, mangled and torn, dropped to the ground, and Tatsuki rushed over to it, bending down try and _do something_, but Orihime knew it was too late. Far too late; the broken chain protruding from her chest was proof of that.

Tatsuki dragged Chizuru's corpse over to her, demanding what had happened, what was happening. She couldn't answer, staring in mute horror as the limp, half-translucent figure that was Chizuru's soul was lowered, closer and closer until the jaws of the mask closed around her, first the legs and working up.

_This is wrong…_

Orihime choked back a sob.

"Didja like that, little human?" the monster taunted. "Someone help! Someone help!" The vines whipped around heading for Tatsuki this time. "Humans are so _pathetic_!"

_No! Not Tatsuki too!_

Tatsuki jumped when the vines curled around her wrist but wrenched herself free, thorns tearing at the blood vessels. Clutching it to her chest, she grabbed one the of the desiccated strips of Chizuru's shirt to form a makeshift tourniquet. A second later a second vine exploded from the ground, tossing her up, catching her in a deadly embrace.

_No… not again…._

_Not Tatsuki too…._

_Not after… all she's done!_

Her hairpins glowed, and as Tatsuki screamed, they _shattered_.

-

Chad didn't know what was wrong with Shigeo and Harutoki. He dodged a clumsy strike, and then a second one, trying to get closer to the motionless blur. He was fairly sure he had hit it earlier, had heard some strange static in his ears, and then his friends' assaults had literally doubled.

He didn't want to hurt them, but they kept getting in the way.

'You and your stupid-ass pacifism,' he could hear Ichigo sulking.

"_**Chad, at five o'clock, six feet!"**_

_What does Ichigo have to do with these things? _

Another memory formed sluggishly in his mind, answering his question but giving him more.

"_**The girl with the orange hair… I felt her too, she's scary… She's fighting the monster…" **_

_Ichigo fights these things? _

Chad held no delusions about the girl he somewhat considered a friend. She was in many ways like an animal; it was her instinct to seek out fights. She didn't fight out of an urge to protect, but because she enjoyed it. In many ways, she was very cruel.

He was thankful to Inoue Orihime for her influence on the orange-head.

In many ways, Kurosaki Ichigo reminded him of himself before his abuelo had taught him to be kind.

_**How can you be so mean?**_

Yet, even she could find it in her to turn her fists against a monster that tormented a child.

_Abuelo… I understand that my fists are not to be used to hurt people. They are to protect my mighty body; they are to protect those that cannot protect themselves. _

He ducked another pair of sloppy punches.

_Please…_

…_give me the power._

-

_Karin should be safe now… it seems like the Hollows are retreating. _

Panting with exertion, Ichigo leaped from building to building, swooping down like a fallen angel whoever she came across a Hollow. Karakura was a mess. Here and there, there was a limp figure, where Ishida's stupid contest had come to a deadly result, and she felt more and more nervous about what condition Orihime would be in when she found her.

_Tatsuki… you'd better have kept her safe, or so help me god…_

Slash, dead Hollow.

Stopping at the edge of a particularly tall skyscraper and wiping the scum's blood off Zangetsu's blade, Ichigo frowned. It looked like all the Hollows in the area were congregated in one place, below where the cracks in the sky met and crossed.

_Those cracks… are getting wider… _

It couldn't be a good thing. It filled her with a feeling that wasn't quite dread but certainly wasn't positive.

Scowling, Ichigo looked between the fractured sky and the direction of Karakura High School, unsure which way to go. Zangetsu's bandage fell around her shoulders, weighting her down, and she nodded shortly.

The Hollows' congregation point wasn't too far out of the way, after all. If she had a bit of a time hacking them to bits while she was there, well… Orihime couldn't deny Ichigo her base nature, could she?

-

"Slaughter. White pain, red blood, black death. Dark skies and rolling thunder enshroud the plain; scream, says the wind, and wind screams! The forty-seventh destructive art: _daishinen_!"

The wind howled, shattering the nearby windows, tearing up the ground and the concrete and the Hollow for good measure, leaving a devastating trail of destruction behind. Though inordinately pleased by the sight, Rukia still cringed, realizing she had allowed her exhilaration with her renewed ability to use kido to overwhelm her judgment.

It had been careless. Like something Ichigo would do.

On the other hand, it had eradicated any remaining Hollows. With style.

_She's rubbing off on me_, Rukia admitted, not sure whether to be vaguely amused or just plain mortified. Compromising by brushing off the topic, she ran full tilt down the shard-strewn road, following a line of prints that had managed not to be obliterated by her over-the-top kido.

With so much Hollow activity centering in on the fractured sky, she had no doubt Ichigo would be headed there. The Quincy would probably be there as well, cesium to Ichigo's francium and both of them all but drowning in a sea of Hollows.

Turning a corner, Rukia nearly ran headlong into a tall, pig-like Hollow. Dispatching it with a careless _byakurai_, she spotted Ishida, his bow posed to fire and his hands bleeding, torn to pieces.

"Kuchiki Rukia," he acknowledged, loosing the arrow at an airborne spirit. He adjusted his glasses with a finger. "Shinigami. So you've recovered the ability to use kido?" For a second, the boy studied her, before he snorted. "Borrowing power. You can't even use your own reiatsu. Pathetic. Isn't that family name of yours _noble_?"

Rukia froze, the stored spirit energy in the contanobooster seeming to thrum in time with the heartbeat that thudded in her ears, hazing over her eyes in her growing anger.

The _byakurai _that destroyed the Hollow approaching at the Quincy's back also blew a hole in the building behind it.

-

The sound of a thousand whirling blades sheered the air as Orihime stood up, eyes filled with fury. The Hollow hesitated, looking back and worth for the source of the noise.

"Do you want to save Tatsuki?" a quiet voice sounded in her ear, and she looked down in shock - or tried to. It seemed like time had stopped; the Hollow, Tatsuki, herself, even the leaves in the air and the wind. Stopped.

The small voice repeated its question.

_Yes_, she tried to answer, and though her mouth didn't move, by the voice's reply, it understood.

"What would you do, if she lived?"

If she had been able to move, Orihime's eyes would have slid closed in sadness. _I would… leave her alone, so she would be safer._

"Would you?"

If she could have gaped stupidly, Orihime would have done it then. Hovering in the air in front of her, incongruous to the serious nature of the moment, was a small fairy, shocking white hair pulled back into a topknot and dressed in a black kimono.

"Yeah," the fairy answered itself a second later. "You would." It nodded, satisfied, and nodded cheerily at her. "Pleased to finally meet you, Orihime. I am Shun'o of the Shun Shun Rikka." As if summoned by his words, the air was filled with fairies, most of them tiny and in white kimono rather that black. Of the fairies wearing black there were only five apart from Shun'o.

"Done talking yet?" one of the other five kicked Shun'o in the back of his head, tossing the fairy against Orihime's chest. "We can't keep this up forever, idiot. Woman! You want to save the other girl? Do you?"

"Tsubaki, she already said yes!" squalled Shun'o. The other fairy, obviously Tsubaki, ignored him.

"If so, the only way you can is with us. Retrieve her, heal her, and kill that bastard!"

_It's a fairy version of Ichigo… _Something in Orihime was horrified at the concept. The other, much larger part just wanted to giggle.

"Shun'o!" barked Tsubaki. "Show her how it's done!"

The world kicked back into high gear.

"First, you need to get her down," Shun'o said shortly. "To do that, you have get to her. Repeat after me. Hinagiku!" Hesitantly, she repeated. "Baigon!" Again. "Lily! _Santen Ketsuhun - Senko_! I _reject_!"

A cloud of the white-clothed mini-fairies reacted to the incantation, congregating under her feet and forming a thin golden shield. The shield exploded in energy, and then she was gone from the ground, soaring through the air, rocketing to Tatsuki, whom she tore out of the thorny grip of the Hollow.

"Now summon them again!" Shun'o ordered quickly.

Orihime complied, and the golden shield reappeared above her erupted and sent them flying back earthward, where they landed in a rough tumble.

"You… you _bitch_!" The vinous Hollow roared in anger, and half a dozen deadly tendrils weaved through the air chasing them down. Gritting her teeth, Orihime threw herself over Tatsuki's mangled but still breathing, still living body to shield it from an onslaught that never came.

Three of the black-clothed fairies made the corners of a triangle-shaped golden shield, composed of thread upon thread upon thread that entangled the attacking vines and then smoothed out.

It was beautiful in a way.

"That's their ability… Hinagiku, Baigon, and Lily's," Shun'o informed. "They and the senko reject beyond the shield. For those three, it's actions. Anything with malicious intent. For the senko, it's you. They're the movement specialists. Ayame and I, on the other hand, reject within the shield, countering damage like it wasn't there to begin with."

"But that means…" Orihime let go of Tatsuki and scrambled out of the way, and the two fairies took positions at her friend's head and feet.

"After me, Orihime…

"Shun'o! Ayame! _Soten Kisshun_… I reject!"

Like magic, a second warm golden shield enveloped the martial artist, and the various rips and tears in her arms, legs, and torso began to mend.

"Woman!"

She jumped. "T-Tsubaki?"

The last of the black-clad fairies nodded at her. "Unlike those five, I am capable of rejecting on _both _sides of the shield. I break through and reject the union of matter! In effect, I slice the enemy apart! Woman!" he shouted again, and pointed over his shoulder at the Hollow Hinagiku, Baigon, and Lily were still holding off. "I ask you. Do you want that monster dead?"

_Do I… want it dead…? _Tatsuki's wounds had all but disappeared, but she could see Chizuru's maimed corpse out of the corner of her eye, and felt ice settle in her stomach. _Yes… I do. For Chizuru… whose only sin was caring for me… _"I… do…"

"Good! Shun'o!"

The healing shield shattered, revealing a completely healed but sleeping Tatsuki.

Shun'o nodded and fluttered over to Orihime's shoulder. "After me!"

_I do…. I want it dead. _Tears welled up in her eyes, but she blinked them away, setting her face in a serious scowl. "Yes."

"Tsubaki!"

"_Tsubaki_!"

"Koten Satsuhun…"

"_Koten Satsuhun_… _I REJECT_!"

-

Chad didn't know where the armor had come from. He only knew that suddenly, he could see the monster clearly, see the seeds burrowed in his friends' bodies, see the seeds sprouting from the monsters head.

He only knew that somehow, before Shigeo and Harutoki could recover, the monster would have to be destroyed, and that he could do it.

_Thank you, abuelo…_

-

Hack and slash, hack and slash. Dripping red cloth whipped through the air, a sturdy shield and able weapon at the same time, acting under no will but Zangetsu's own. Ichigo's technique was far from graceful, but if was far more effective than the pansy-ass Quincy's arrows, which were having difficulty taking down a Hollow per shot.

Rukia, on the other hand, took them down in droves per shot.

_But I still have her beat. _Ichigo grinned wildly.

Ishida seemed to be gravitating toward her for some reason, disturbing her as much as it pissed her off, something the Great Hollow Sea felt keenly. She had to flip over his head to keep from braining him, and almost did so out of sheer frustration.

"Stay out of my fucking way, shithead!"

"If you weren't always getting in _my _way, I might try," he retorted darkly, ducking under the hilt cloth as it snapped around.

"Oh shut up you two!" Rukia snarled, rattling off another retarded incantation before torching a dozen Hollows. "We're in a bit too big a fix for you to be acting like children!"

"And whose fault is that?" Hack. Slash. A Hollow howled in pain as the hilt wrap caught it in a stranglehold. "The dickless wonder over here!"

"I only proposed the contest, Kurosaki," Ishida argued. "You agreed to it."

Rukia looked over in shock.

_Of all the sanctimonious assholes… _"I agreed to a match," she corrected. "You know, one-on-one, last one standing wins?" A moment later, after a subtle prodding, Ichigo's lips lifted into a nastier grin. "'cause the way it looks, there ain't going to be anyone else standing after this's done."

The Quincy's blue eyes shot to her own, filled with dread. He didn't want to believe it, she could tell, and it amused her, because he knew better.

Quietly, because then it would hit harder, Ichigo sidled up to his face and murmured, "There were over a score of fresh corpses in the streets that I saw on the way here." Patting him on the shoulder, she continued. "I hope you're happy, Ishida. In the two months I've substituted, I hadn't even lost one."

-

_Chizuru…_

"Orihime," said Chad softly, before going silent, realizing from her expression she didn't feel like talking. She tried to offer him a weak smile, but it went flat when giggles started working up her body, making her shake.

_Chizuru's dead. Those monsters that Ichigo fights don't seem so harmless anymore…. _

Orihime couldn't fight off the giggle this time. She had thought them harmless. Ichigo could fight them off with such ease, dispatch them with one careless whack, laughing and taunting and not even trying, and it had taken Chizuru's death and Tatsuki being mangled before she could kill one.

She couldn't let Tatsuki be hurt again, not for her sake.

She wouldn't let anyone be hurt, for her sake.

She wouldn't let anyone hurt anyone she cared about either. Tatsuki, Rukia, even Ichigo… she'd protect them.

Orihime giggled again, and Chad watched silently, concerned.

-

"That is one _big-ass _Hollow," said Ichigo reverently.

"Big and stupid," Rukia corrected, her words not managing to disguise her nervousness at the monstrosity she had called 'Menos Grande.' "But even so, Soul Society has a special squad trained for no other reason than to deal with the Menos; its sheer size is enough to overwhelm all but the stronger seated officers."

Ichigo frowned at that. They had a division set aside for these things? "You shinigami really are pathetic, aren't you?" She flinched as she was enveloped in blue fire, only to stare as it failed even to singe her shihakusho. "What the hell…?"

The disempowered shinigami waved the contanobooster and grinned.

_Stupid Rukia. Cramping my style. _

"Shinigami," Ishida snapped, as several stories in the air, the Menos' mouth opened wide, a roiling scarlet conflagration flinging to life in the maw. "Rather than playing around, we should be coming up with a plan."

The playfulness drained out of Rukia's face. "That's.. a _cero _blast!"

Ichigo looked at her in disbelief. _A zero blast? _They called a huge energy ball of destruction a _zero _blast? _What the hell? _

_And what's with the Spanish? "Menos Grande," "cero"… Are they trying to say that the Spanish are evil or something? _

"How observant." The Quincy boy was on a roll. "Kuchiki, do you know of any kido powerful enough to turn back a cero?"

As Rukia shook her head mutely, Ichigo blinked. Zangetsu's bandage wrap _flopped _over her shoulder, sodden dark red, as though coated with slime. She rubbed at it with a finger, expecting to brush away flakes of something like paint, but nothing gave way.

It was like the cloth was clogged with something.

And Zangetsu didn't like it. At all. He wanted her to get rid of it. But how…?

"_Ichigo_!"

The Menos discharged its blast.

She barely had time to pull Zangetsu up, catch the blast on the blade, and felt her strength flag under the assault. Damn, but there were some times she wished she'd been born a boy, so she wouldn't have to compensate for a female's weaker body.

_I have… to push it back somehow…. _

_Maybe I could… _She gritted her teeth, struggling not to be crushed to the ground. _…use my spiritual pressure…?_

As if in answer, Ichigo felt her spirit power erupt, focusing on the edge of the blade; when the pressure lightened, she forced her aching arms to bring it down in a slash. Scarlet outlined in black poured from the edge in a stream, pushing back the cero like it was nothing, splintering around it and ripping into the Menos like a dozen steel-tipped feathers.

The howl it gave as it retreated was enough to chill her bones, but the light touch of the cloth, fresh as though newly laundered, and the phantom weight of a hand on her shoulder that she hadn't felt since Grand Fisher left her warm.

As she fell back on her ass, Ichigo smiled. "Getsuga… Tsubasa."

And then she screamed.

-

Rukia looked back and forth between the sober high school students, feeling grossly out of place. It was a moment of reflection, over something she was aware was a fact of life as a shinigami. You couldn't save them all.

Chad was quiet as always, watching. His gaze remained on Ichigo for the most part, as did Orihime's, who was half sitting in her lap, sobbing quietly. Apparently Chizuru, the redhead at school with whom Ichigo often had catfights, had been one of those eaten, before Orihime had awakened her "power."

Ishida merely sat there, looking down at his bandaged, shredded hands, his gaze darkly contemplative.

At first glance, Ichigo herself was somewhat awkwardly comforting Orihime; it had been funny, seeing her dumbstruck expression and hearing the somewhat unfair, "A Hollow ate _Chizuru_? Of all people?"

But she'd fallen silent after Orihime's anguished sob, and now alternated between a stiff pat on the back and leaning backward, eyes distant, as though into an invisible person's embrace. She had wiped away Orihime's tears only once, cringing in distaste and biting back a nasty remark.

Crying was a sign of weakness, and Ichigo hated weakness. Better yet, she loathed it with a passion.

Guilt, despair, anger… the emotional atmosphere was suffocating.

_Soul Society will be after me soon_, Rukia reflected, a twisting feeling in her gut she refused to name. Shinigami didn't need emotions. Foolish emotions. _I have to leave. Ichigo can take care of herself now…_

It made sense.

So why was she still arguing with herself?

-

_Foolish, **foolish **emotions. _

Shaking her head as she ran, Rukia whispered, "I have stayed far too long in this world…"

"Yes!" a voice erupted - a painfully familiar voice. "You're quite right!"

She whipped around, saw red hair bright against the black night and his shihakusho. The distance made it hard to see clearly, but she knew him. "R-renji? Abarai Renji?"

His zanpakuto bit into the ground, leaving a thin gouge in the concrete from where Rukia had jumped. He looked up, smirking, and shook his head. "Really, Rukia. Hunters from Soul Society are on your heels, and you're so lost in thought you don't even notice? I understand you're in a gigai… but two months has been enough for you to completely lose your edge."

Renji pulled his zanpakuto from the ground and balanced it on his shoulder. "Talk, Rukia. Where's the human that stole your powers?"

_How do they know?_

"Wha-what are you talking about?" she demanded. "Just because I'm in a gigai doesn't mean my powers were _stolen_. You dare you imply that-"

"It was a _human_!" he interrupted, shocking her into silence. "That's what's responsible for that expression on your face!"

"Renji-"

"Isn't that right - Captain Kuchiki?"

Rukia swallowed, turning slightly, meeting the dark eyes of Kuchiki Byakuya with dread. "Brother…" For a second she thought he was going to say something, before she was forced to leap back a second time to evade another slash.

"Transfer of shinigami power is a serious offense," Renji continued, the dead seriousness in his voice sending chills down her back. Was this really Renji? "Cooperate and it's likely your sentence will be reduced. _Where _is the human the captured you and stole your powers?"

_Captured me? Is that what they think? _A large part of Rukia wanted to feel insulted that she was considered weak enough that a human could subdue her. The other part, as brutal as it hit upon her ego, said that Ichigo probably could have taken her down.

Apparently mistaking her silence for noncompliance, Renji's eyes narrowed and he shifted into a lunging stance. "Don't protect her, Rukia. Those evasions you made? I _let _you. If I wanted to cut you, there wouldn't be a thing you could do to stop me."

She was really beginning to regret not bringing the contanobooster with her. Not that having it would do her any good, but it would feel wonderful to give him a face full of _Soren Sokatsui_. Ichigo really had rubbed off on her too much.

"How about I give you an example?" Renji offered after a moment, freezing her in stupefaction a second time.

A bright blue arrow that sang through the air was her only saving grace.

-

_I am so going to kill her… _

Blade met blade.

Ichigo met the redhead's gaze, noting the shihakusho - a shinigami? - before she snorted, shifting her weight, and pushed. He fairly flew off his feet, landing gracelessly some feet away. She heard Rukia's outburst - "Renji!" - and smirked, kicking almost playfully at the downed Ishida.

She couldn't kick him hard; she owed him one, after all. "Idiot. Getting your ass kicked so easily. For being so generally useless, you certainly have balls." He grunted, attempting a nasty glare that only looked comical with his face so messed up.

"Who're you?" the other shinigami demanded. "What division are you in? And what's with that messed up zanpakuto of yours?"

_Did that bastard just insult Zangetsu? Very, very stupid bastard. _

She caught sight of Rukia palming her face out of the corner of her eyes.

"I ain't in any division, fucktard," Ichigo retorted, hand reaching back to take Zangetsu from her back. The bandage, rather than unfurl to shield her, curled comfortably around her neck.

"That means… you must be the human who stole Rukia's powers." He bared his teeth, suddenly angry. "I'll teach you to screw around in matters you don't belong," he snapped. "_Hoeru_, _Zabimaru_!"

With a puff of smoke, the simple katana morphed into a strange, segmented saw-blade. She frowned at it in distaste, batting away his first strike with ease, stepping forward to nail Renji's chin with her fist. He actually raised up in the air from the force, and their blades unlocked, allowing her to slash back across, opening a furrow in his chest.

A light displacement of air, much like a snort of amusement, gave her Zangetsu's point of view on the weakl-

Blur.

-ing.

"Ichigo!"

_What's Rukia shouting for? _

Then she couldn't breathe, couldn't speak, couldn't see. The last thing she knew what collapsing on top of Renji like a puppet with its strings cut.

-

Uryu stared in shock. First as Kurosaki effortlessly crushed the shinigami who had played with him, and then as she brought down by a single strike; strangely, the small, neat hole from the attack didn't leak much blood.

_That's kyushi… the point that disables all use of spiritual power for a time. _With her zanpakuto in permanent shikai, Kurosaki was always expending spiritual power, and it was no wonder she was unconscious.

"Brother…" Kuchiki looked in shock as Renji struggled out from under the orange-headed shinigami substitute, begrudgingly resealing his zanpakuto.

"She is merely unconscious, Rukia," said the shinigami captain calmly, as his lieutenant attempted to pick Kurosaki up, only to crash down a second time in a scene that was almost comical. Almost.

_They want her alive…? _

"Why?" Kuchiki Rukia took the thought from Uryu's mind. "What does the Gotei want Ichigo for?"

The hell butterflies fluttered around, all _four _of them, he now realized.

Kuchiki Byakuya gave his sister a long, quiet look. Then: "The Gotei do not. Captain Kurotsuchi, however, does."

The look of utter shock and horror that painted Rukia's face white gave Uryu chills.

-

Urahara Kisuke leaned back on the wall, having listened in on the entire affair.

He sighed, adjusted his hat. "Well…" For once he couldn't hold back the words. "_Shit_."

Isshin was so going to kill him.

* * *

**KARAKURA ARC - END**

Solos, mentioned in the first scene, are Hollows that have yet to begin consuming other Hollows. Depending on whether it's accented, the Spanish translation is "only" or "single." Either would be appropriate.

_Getsuga Tsubasa_ - Ichigirl's variant on getsuga tensho. Yes, I'm aware that if you translate it, it sounds retarded ("moonfang wings"). But it wasn't a random choice.

Hado 21: Tosatsujo (used by Rukia last chapter) and Hado 47: Daishinen (used by her in this one) are of my creation... and if the latter's incantation made you go "wtf?" I must have done better than I thought. Kido incantations are... very vague. Hard to come up with.

It'll probably be a few months before I start posting more, because I need to get most of the SS arc done beforehand if I intend to update on any respectable schedule. See ya then.


	8. Something in the Aftermath

Um. For those who thought I died.

The SS arc is not ready, so there will not be weekly updates. But considering I got held back by a plot rehaul, writer's block, real life and Star Wars, I thought I'd post this just to reassure people that yeah, I am still writing. It just moves at a snail's pace sometimes. 

* * *

_**Strawberry**_

_The Soul Society Arc_

**Chapter One - Something in the Aftermath**

_The human mind rejects the thought that beyond death there is nothing. _

_Usually, they prefer the thought of a 'heaven,' a paradise. A reward for worldly deeds. _

_But it is the living that are nothing. What is beyond death… is far from paradise. _

-

She wasn't sure how far along the line it had gone until she had decided she liked white. White, clean, pure, unassuming, upon which the moon shimmered and the blood shone. Slicing moon, slicing flesh, dripping blood, painting sand, feeding sand. 

Ah, but Ichigo couldn't think straight. 

This white was ugly. She didn't even think it could be called white, it was so dingy from half-hearted scrubbings. It _wasn't _clean, _wasn't _pure, and certainly wasn't assuming. It was… it was...

Something. 

She frowned, trying and failing to recall her own train of thought. After a moment of conflict, she dismissed it as unimportant and tried to pursue another topic. 

On her back, struggling to focus on the dingy white ceiling, Ichigo forced herself to swallow, detachedly noting there was something in the way. Something in the way, something weighing down on her, something obstructing her senses, something not there. 

"Zan… getsu," she choked around the obstruction, some sort of tube. Her throat was numb. All of her was numb… Why? "Where… is… Zanget-su?" 

There was no answer. She was alone. 

Slowly, sluggishly, a breeze stirred. It was light, almost undetectable, just a feathery caress on her cheek, but it blew away the fog in her mind like a roaring gale, and the world snapped into focus. 

The monitors. The bed. The counters. The _smell_. The room looked almost like one from a hospital, but the smell gave it away. Underneath the unbearably sterile stench (living at a clinic didn't cure one of a dislike of an odor) was another smell, like rot. Or congealed blood, which she didn't mind so much, save the fact that it stank after a few weeks. 

The congealed blood in question had probably sat for _years_. 

Ichigo tried to shift, to sit up, but the effort made it hard to breathe as an ache settled in her chest. 

_Sword… That guy… Rukia's brother… He got me somehow. _

_Where am I? _

It wasn't a hospital, and she didn't think they would be treating her anyway. But Ichigo couldn't think of any other option that didn't sound like something out of a bad horror novel (or one of Orihime's racier dreams). Her lips quirked slightly, brushing off the mild knot of anxiety forming in her chest. 

The breeze cut with an abruptness contrary to its beginning and the haze flooded back in, stealing away the clarity of thought she had had. A door she hadn't noticed swung open, and the strangest looking thing Ichigo had ever seen walked in. 

_Isn't that… the same getup… Rukia's brother wore…?_

Only different. She wasn't sure whether the black was a mask or face paint, but the hat would have been overkill in a circus. 

"Nemu! You useless bitch, she's awake. Double the dosage." 

Dosage? Nemu was apparently the girl with the freak show, but… 

Ichigo felt the needle, just a pinch, and then knew the blackness again. 

And then the colors.

-

Orihime knew something was wrong when she woke up that morning, but she couldn't pin down what. Laying comfortably in the bed that Ichigo had shoved into her room, she tried to figure out just what had her concerned. It was a second before it occurred to her that the room was quiet save for her own breathing. 

"Ichigo?" she exclaimed in alarm, shooting upright in bed. Several glances around proved her instincts right - the orange-head was nowhere to be seen, beyond sense and beyond scent. Not only that, but Rukia was gone as well. _What happened?_

There was a slight remnant of spiritual pressure, several hours old. Maybe if she followed it…. Orihime threw on her clothes in record time and rushed out of the room, turning the corner and crashing into a chest that sent her tumbling to the floor. "Isshi-daddy!"

Isshin looked down at her in surprise, before blinking as though recalling something. Eyes widening comically, he fell down on top of her in his haste to help her up, somehow landing in a way they got their limbs entangled. 

"Orihime!" he exclaimed a second later, scrambling around, wiggling his head free of her arm. "Daddy's sorry for hitting you. I'll help you up. See? Helping you up!"

As she took his hand and was hoisted up, Orihime couldn't help but giggle, feeling some of the startled tension fall away. Ichigo often derided her father as an idiot, but she was wrong; the man was no fool. Isshin wouldn't be acting this way if Ichigo was in danger. In a way, the man was bipolar, prone to beating the orange-head into submission and then doing the same if he caught wind of someone threatening her. _But she'd never believe that… _

"Have you seen Ichigo?" she asked after a moment, having missed a lot of excited Isshin-chatter in her musing. 

A flicker of something else passed over his face but was gone in an instant. He crossed his arms like an insolent child, following her through the open door to the kitchen. "She went off early this morning. Didn't say a word." 

_That's not like Ichigo… _The smile on her face drooped a little, but it appeared again when she saw the little blonde head at the counters. "Good morning Yuzu!"

Yuzu smiled back. "The food's not going to be done for a while," she said with her usual cheer, stirring a bowl vigorously with a whisk. Foreign style breakfast today. 

"Don't worry, Yuzu! Daddy'll help!"

The younger girl winced, and stole away the pot that Isshin had advanced toward. "It'll probably be around an hour," she added, "so can you distract him a bit? Karin's not feeling up to it." 

_And Karin's sick too_, Orihime remembered, feeling more and more that her initial thought, that something was dreadfully wrong, had been correct. _Ichigo would never run off with Karin sick. _Hiding her growing anxiety, she smiled again. "Sure. Isshi-daddy, I'm going to go see Chad and try and find Ichigo. Can you go to Hoshitaka's? She might miss Yuzu's cooking!"

Isshin looked horrorstruck. "No! Ichigo miss Yuzu's cooking? It can't be! I won't allow it." Abruptly, he burst into tears and ran off out the door that wasn't in the kitchen and yet somehow was, yelling. "Don't worry, darling Yuzu. Daddy will find her! Daddy promises!" 

The blonde in question gazed at her father's back in mute dismay, glanced at Orihime, and shook her head. 

Orihime stared after the man, curiosity roused, and returned Yuzu's look. "Where did that door come from…?"

The eleven year old returned her attention to the stove, hurriedly stirring a thick white gravy that had begun to boil in her distraction before turning down the heat. "Daddy does things like that from time to time," she answered. "I don't know how." She grinned impishly. "I've always thought that instead of being able to see ghosts Daddy got anime powers."

The thought of Isshin in an anime was startlingly easy to imagine, and Orihime giggled at the mental pictures that came to mind. But somewhere along the line, Ichigo appeared - as the damsel in distress, of all things - and she grew somber again. Waving goodbye to Yuzu, she left the kitchen and the house through the door in the living room, as Isshin's exit had disappeared. 

The sun was warm and yellow, shining down on streets that would probably have been empty had it not been for the police groups marking down places where the Hollows had taken a soul. The breeze kept the temperature from becoming uncomfortable, but it could do nothing for the discomfort that came from treading through the streets of a city that had suffered so many inexplicable deaths. 

Orihime thought about the black-clothed fairies that had called themselves the Shun Shun Rikka, thought about Tatsuki. A large part of her wanted to run to her friend's house as fast as she could just to reassure herself that she was safe, but Urahara's words gnawed at her and kept her from changing her course. 

Hollows seek out those with spiritual pressure.

In other words, it was her fault Tatsuki had been injured. 

_Her fault Chizuru had-_

She stopped the thought there. There was no point in dwelling in the past. She would be strong. She wouldn't be like she had last night, clinging to weakness and crying like a baby; Ichigo hated that. All she could do was turn that weakness into yet another reason to be strong. 

The roads twisted and turned with little direction from her mind to her feet. Orihime was aware that she had passed only a handful of people as she walked, that eyes appeared in windows and followed her, but she ignored them because it only made her feel worse. 

When she got to his house, Chad wasn't at home, so she merely wandered further on to the Yumizawa Children's Park, not feeling up to returning to the clinic yet, even though breakfast was probably ready and she hadn't eaten. 

The park was silent and barren, and the slight breeze cooled her face as Orihime took a seat at the top of a slide, a knot of loneliness settling in her gut. She closed her eyes, searching for something, some wisp of a trail to follow, something of Ichigo. 

But there was nothing. 

"Miss Inoue."

Startled, Orihime took a tumble down the slide, landing in an undignified heap on the bottom. A hand appeared to help her to her feet, and she took it, smiling sheepishly at Chad and looking around for the other speaker. "Who?"

"It is I."

Yelping in surprise, Orihime hid behind the larger boy, peeking out under his armpit at… a small black cat. "It talks!"

The cat looked off to the side as though annoyed. "Of course I talk. Surely you've seen things more unusual than a talking cat." 

"He's called Yoruichi," Chad said, stepping out from in front of her, and she noted his expression: somber and worried. "Have you seen Ichigo?"

Something in his expression chilled her. _Something's very wrong… _Orihime shook her head slowly, and he nodded, once to her and once to the cat. 

"You're not going to find her here," the cat, Yoruichi, said shortly, its (his?) feline features somehow expressing seriousness. "Or, in fact, anywhere in the Living World. Both Ichigo and Rukia have been taken back to Soul Society by order of the shinigami high court." 

"But why?" exclaimed Orihime in shock. Was it because of the hollow bait? But that hadn't been Rukia's fault, and Uryu had been equally responsible. 

Yoruichi's yellow eyes bored into her own. "Transfer of shinigami reiryoku - that is, spirit power - to a human is a major felony in the Soul Society. Kuchiki is now on death row awaiting execution."

_Death row? _

_Execution?_

Orihime could feel the blood drain from her face. "And Ichigo?" She wasn't sure she really wanted to know. 

The black feline hesitated, glancing down and around in a way that looked almost practiced, before answering quietly. "It's not certain why for her… but apparently the twelfth division captain took an interest in her development." There was the hesitation again, and Orihime dared not let her hopes rise. "Kurotsuchi Mayuri is also the head of the department of research and development… and he is notorious for having no morals where experimentation - and specimens - are concerned."

_Research and development._

_No morals._

_Experimentation. _

_Specimen._

The last word resounded in her head, again and again, and had Chad not caught her she would have collapsed to her knees. 

"Why are you telling me this?" It came out as a whisper. _I promised. I promised! I would protect her - like she protected me. Ichigo…._ Orihime swallowed, feeling sick. _Promise made… and failed already. _

Yoruichi replied to the question with another. "Do you want to save your friend?"

_Hell yes. _Her vocal response was tamer. 

"Then come with me. I will train you and Sado, and go with you to the Soul Society. I will help you save your friends."

_Hell yes. _This time it was verbatim. 

-

Anyone who knew him would probably be unsurprised that Kisuke wasn't very fond of sake. 

He had never been able to hold his alcohol well, a fact that annoyed him - but not enough to convince him to build up a tolerance the natural way. The alcohol clouded his mind, made him struggle for even simple coherence…. "Not very fond" was an understatement. Kisuke hated drinking. 

He laughed softly into the small bowl, filled almost to the brim with a clear liquid with an amber tinge hardly distinguishable from the bowl itself. It was diluted, more water than alcohol, but it was still sake. Isshin would be shocked when he showed up. 

_And he will show up_, Kisuke reflected, taking a sip. Probably out for blood, but it was true. His old friend had several choices for the path he would take from here, but all of them started at Urahara Shoten. 

The shopkeeper wondered which path Isshin would take. He remembered a man who was a daredevil, fearless and always ready to take another step forward, anything to close in on the top. 

Kisuke sipped again, taking to his feet and strolling to the back of the shop where the entrance to the hastily-built underground training area lay. Tessai had orders to send Isshin on; it wasn't like he had to wait for him. In fact, better he not, because the daredevil would get arrogant, and arrogance in his current condition could only make a bad situation worse. 

But the shopkeeper wondered… was the man he remembered the man he was today? 

Kurosaki Isshin had many regrets. 

The same had not been true of Sakushu Isshin. 

Kisuke laughed again softly, feeling the dampened presence of the other man just barely tickling at his senses, and taking a third sip, reckoned through experience and the now approaching presence of Tessai that Isshin had arrived. Marking time from Tessai's departure, he waited a few seconds before speaking.

"It's been a while, Isshin." 

A snort. "Let's cut to the chase, Kisuke." 

That tone… Kisuke hadn't heard it in years. Rough, impatient, rude and careless, yet interminably serious. He was surprised by his own reaction; it was akin to being hit over the head by a two-by-four that one had thought was a twig. He turned around to study Isshin further. 

The other man's serious expression went slack in surprise and he stumbled backward several paces, clutching at his heart. "Kisuke - you're drinking sake! The world has come to an end!"

_Classic Kurosaki_, thought the shopkeeper, unconsciously relaxing until he was shocked again by the abrupt draining away of the other's exuberance. 

"Orihime's gone off to find Chad," said Isshin shortly, soberly. "So Yoruichi will probably have gotten to the two of them by now. You mean to send them to Soul Society, don't you?" 

For a moment, Kisuke didn't answer, too caught up in his observation. "Mercurial" had always been a good word for describing Isshin, but even so he was not one to be quite this bad; he was far more alarmed, far more concerned, far more worried than he was trying to pretend. 

Sipping at the bowl candidly, Kisuke contemplated options. "Yes, I do." He paused, the split second deliberate and the other fully aware of it. "It's not likely they'll survive, but Yoruichi can't do it alone. They'll prove a distraction, if nothing else. No one suspects a cat." 

Isshin's fist gave away his inner turmoil by clenching. 

_He's not just worried about his daughter, but also about the other two_, Kisuke diagnosed. _Or is he? If the other two die, the likelihood of retrieving Ichigo is reduced to nearly zero. Yoruichi's not self-sacrificing enough to chance her own survival for a girl who may even be dead by that point. _He studied Isshin's posture a little more, taking advantage of his tightly closed eyes. _No… it's for the other two as well. _

Isshin mastered himself with difficulty, stance shifting, gaze distant. "There's a lot riding on this, Kisuke; you're trusting two human teenagers and an out-of-practice special forces operative?" 

The tone was back. He must be forcing himself into that older mindset in the effort to concentrate on the bigger picture. 

Ducking his head slightly, Kisuke regarded the watered down sake. "It's the best that can be done. Tessai and myself are formally exiled, Jinta doesn't have the power, and Ururu can't fight shinigami at all. And actually, three human teenagers; Ryuken's son is going too."

"Three," Isshin repeated, gaze sailing upward as though beseeching God to grant him wisdom. 

Kisuke sensed that now was not the time to push. Sakushu Isshin was always a man to solve his internal conflicts alone, and that, he figured, was something he and his present incarnation shared. 

"This is a suicide mission, Kisuke." 

The utter torment in the other's voice made the shopkeeper feel guilty. He could sympathize, to an extent; he thought of Jinta and Ururu as his children as times. He supposed their deaths would sadden him, but he would go on, without any of the anguish Isshin was prone to after Masaki's death. 

But Kurosaki Isshin was caught in a web of his own making. 

Kisuke imagined crumpling up the momentary guilt like paper and tossing it away into an endless abyss. 

"Kisuke…." 

There it was. Satisfaction made forgetting the guilt so much easier. 

"You can remove the bakudo sealing my reiryoku, can't you?"

_Game. Set. Match. _

Kisuke smiled. "Certainly."

-

The box was small; Uryu was reminded of the phrase, "Good things come in small packages." However, he wasn't so sure the sanrei shuto could truly be considered a good thing. 

Certainly it was powerful. But more than that, it was a shortcut. Uryu had always promised himself he would come by his power the proper way, through rigorous training, but now it appeared he would break that promise. 

_It's a choice between a personal promise and personal honor_, he told himself, carefully skirting around his knowledge that the reliability of one's word was a large component of one's honor in addition to the towering rock that was in his way. 

The Karakura Nature Reserve - despite its name, it was little more than a larger, denser, and more secluded park - was cut through the middle by one of the many tributaries that fed into the rushing waters of the Rubicon, and was spotted throughout with ponds: some sizable, some not. This one, while several feet in diameter, was hardly a foot in depth. 

Uryu placed the box on a smaller rock by the edge of the shallow pond, mentally preparing himself to open it. When he hesitated, he swallowed; images sprang to mind. Bodies lying here and there, some mutilated, some not, all frozen in unnatural death. Deaths that wouldn't have come had he not been so stupid. 

So _stupid…_

If Kurosaki hadn't pulled off whatever and forced that monolith of a Hollow, the one Kuchiki had called Menos Grande, back to where it came from - Uryu didn't want to think of the carnage that would have ensued. He pulled free the ties that held the box shut. 

"Uryu!"

And started. He wheeled around, unconsciously hiding the box with his body. "Inoue. Sado." 

Sado returned his nod of acknowledgment, but Inoue, devoid of her characteristic exuberance, merely swallowed. 

"Ichigo and Rukia've been taken to Soul Society," Inoue said in a rush, closing her eyes but not managing to hide the anguish present. Uryu didn't fool himself into thinking he was the best in reading human expressions, but he could have sworn he felt a kindred spirit in the girl: that of people who tried, and failed, and made promises that broke the person that made them because they couldn't be kept. 

"I know," he answered with a nod, turning his back to them so Inoue could open her eyes again, to the world and reality, without fear that he would see. 

"We're going to the Soul Society," she continued, sounding unbothered. "Neither Chad nor I am strong enough, so we're taking some lessons. We wanted to ask you if you wanted to join us." 

Uryu looked down at the box. "Lessons?" He shook his head. _The only lessons I need I've already been given_. "I knew you two had developed spirit powers, but I hadn't thought you would know how to properly harness them. If you can't, there's no point in your going to Soul Society."

"That is what I mean to teach them." 

The Quincy jumped, wheeling about a second time. He caught the barest traces of a grin flit across Inoue's face as he glanced back and forth in alarm, straining his senses to find the third presence. "Who?"

"Mr. Yoruichi," said Sado. "The one who'll be teaching us." 

"Has he concealed his presence?" Uryu inquired. Or had his training flagged to the point that he could sense only the most blatant of spiritual pressures? "To do such a thing requires great skill…"

"I'm flattered, Ishida Uryu," the voice rejoined, sounding amused. Following the sound, his gaze caught with the large rock he had dodged earlier, and a small black figure appearing from behind it. "I am Yoruichi."

It was a cat. A cat that - 

"It talked?" Uryu gaped, backing away unconsciously. Inoue hid a grin with her hand. 

The cat's yellow eyes fell on the box, and he could swear its expression took on a look of slight surprise. "Certainly you've seen things more unbelievable than a talking cat, Quincy," it said coolly. "This should hardly be a surprise at all." Inoue made a sound of inquiry, so the cat explained. "Spirits are spirits. Generally, those of animals ride the cycle of souls too quickly to develop intelligence, let alone reiryoku, but it's not unheard of. The captain of the seventh division lived as a wolf that developed consciousness and spirit power."

"It's one thing to know something, and quite another to see proof of it," Uryu defended himself, suddenly feeling foolish. 

"True." Yoruichi nodded at his words. "I extend you the same offer of training I have given the other two."

The words were mere formality, Uryu realized. The cat knew what the answer was: 'no.' It neither needed nor particularly wanted to train him, and abruptly he wondered just what forced the cat to help Inoue and Sado in their hopeless crusade to save Kurosaki and Kuchiki. 

There was something wrong with this. 

However, that _something wrong _was giving Kurosaki's friends much needed training; that _something wrong _was giving him better backup in his own crusade to preserve what little remained of his honor as a Quincy. 

Uryu held his tongue as he respectfully declined Yoruichi's offer, and hoped that _something wrong _wouldn't go the way of karma and end up killing them all to even the score. 

* * *


	9. The Road From Here

It's been a long time coming, but here she is.

* * *

**Chapter Two - The Road From Here to Tomorrow**

Assistant Captain Abarai Renji followed his captain down the path to the sixth division criminal housing. His chest shot through with pain with every breath he took, every step he made, but he was careful to keep the evidence of it from showing on his face. It was humiliating enough that Captain Kuchiki had been forced to_ save_ him from the bitch that had stolen Rukia's powers and warped them to her own desires; power limit or not, Renji was sure he would never live it down.

He certainly wasn't going to let on that despite Assistant Captain Kotetsu's deft hand at healing, Kurosaki had somehow managed to… well, infect was probably the best word, even if it was a misnomer. She had somehow managed to infect his wounds with her own - with _Rukia's _- tainted reiatsu, dispelling the majority of Isane's healing power.

Captain Kuchiki knew, of course. Renji dared to hope that his captain was angry at the perversion Kurosaki had made of Rukia's shinigami power, but he couldn't be sure. The ice mask of apathy was too complete for him to discern anything Kuchiki Byakuya felt about his adopted sister's situation.

Renji stole a glance at the back of Byakuya's head anyway. And damn his luck, it proved just as fruitless as always.

They passed Rikichi, the normally cheerful boy assigned to keeping the hell butterflies cowed to silence by Captain Kuchiki's mere proximity.

_Most of the division is_, Renji thought grimly. He himself could hardly force himself to speak up in his captain's presence, especially since Kurosaki….

It seemed like everything wrong in the sixth division at the moment could be traced back to Kurosaki. Byakuya was a frigid bastard with a stick shoved so far up his ass it was a wonder they didn't see it coming out his mouth, but he wasn't usually _this _bad. Renji generally had to deal with some flack for being new to his position, but that was nothing to what he got now. He also generally could prove his worth with a good spar, but in his condition that was impossible.

Even if he was, Kurosaki had taken his measure of his worth and cheerfully cut it to pieces.

Renji felt heat rushing to his cheeks despite himself. _But it doesn't matter_, he reminded himself viciously, _Kurosaki's getting what she deserves. _

_The bitch probably won't find it so fun when it's her getting cut up._

His conscience twinged, asking if anything really deserved Captain Kurotsuchi, but Renji thought of Rukia and the news they were currently on route to deliver. _Hell yes_, he answered darkly, feeling the familiar embers of fury rising up. _Hell yes. _

Captain and assistant captain came to a stop before a particular cell, and Renji stepped forward to open the door emblazoned with the kanji 'six' that led to the visiting area.

Byakuya strode in, and he followed a step behind, lingering in the door. Rukia sat in the cell's single chair with her back to the entrance, facing the only window, and she made no attempt to turn around although she must have heard them enter.

"Rukia," said Captain Kuchiki shortly.

"Brother." Her tone was soft. "I presume my sentence has been handed down?"

The captain nodded briskly, though there was no way she could have seen. "You are to be executed after the standard wait. Tomorrow you will be transferred to the Shrine of Penitence in preparation for your end at the Sokyoku."

Hearing it said aloud stoked Renji's fury to heretofore unseen heights. His fist tightened and the pain in his chest bit harder; he looked down, focusing on his breathing. Rukia's reply trickled to him anyway.

"I see."

Brother and sister exchanged no more words. Renji forced himself to move out of the way so Captain Kuchiki could make his departure. The silence was awkward; he wasn't sure she realized he was here, and he was no surer he wanted her to know. He had attacked her, after all, even if he hadn't been trying to hurt her. No, he'd been trying to get her to give up the human that stole her powers willingly, so she might get a lighter sentence.

Rukia was no fool. She would realize that.

So why did he have such a hard time speaking?

"Rukia…"

Her head tilted to the side. It wasn't enough to see her face, but it was something. "Renji?" The soft elegance was notably absent from her tone. Instead she sounded tired. Worn out. Not only that, but choked - by guilt, by shock, by horror and disgust, by fear. It made no sense. "I didn't expect you to come." She turned around more, until he could see her face.

"You look like shit," Renji said without thinking.

The side of Rukia's mouth quirked. "I love you too."

She didn't actually look that bad. Though evidently not sleeping well, Rukia was eating fine. She hadn't lost weight, didn't look gaunt, and hadn't yet lost enough sleep to have shadows under her eyes. It was more a feeling, like the emotion that choked her voice layered the air.

Renji scowled. "What's wrong with you?" A spare second later, he felt like hitting himself. _She just got handed her execution, idiot! _"Captain Kuchiki'll do something about the ruling," he hurried to reassure, though inwardly he wondered himself. "It's not like he'll sit back and let them kill you. Especially not when they've got the real criminal in custody."

That was apparently the wrong thing to say.

"Ichigo's not the one at fault here!" Rukia snapped. "I offered the transfer of my own will, Renji. Just because she's different is no excuse to hand her over to Kurotsuchi! Death would be better than that. The _Sokyoku _is better than that."

"Of course she's at fault," Renji snarled back as soon as he regained his wits. "You're strong enough to be a seated officer. There's not been any Hollows in your area strong enough to knock out a seated officer except for the Menos. The only way there could have been a transfer is unwilling!"

Rukia stared at him in disbelief. "No Hollows in my area strong enough to take out a seated officer?" she repeated, her eyes cycling from disbelief to confusion to quiet bemusement, and then _laughed_. "You have no idea. No idea at all."

Then she turned to the window once more, and refused to be goaded into speaking again.

* * *

Orihime had always known Ichigo went easy on her when they sparred. Nowadays, at least - Orihime remembered fast-paced bouts when honest fear made her move beyond the capacity of her body with the fuel of adrenaline and true anger spiked at the merciless pounding of relentless fists. Pain was the best teacher, and in those days Pain also went by the name Kurosaki Ichigo.

Those were the days, she now reflected, slumping like a rag doll against the wall of Yoruichi's training compound. _Those were the days. _"Shun'o. Ayame…." The incantation trailed off there, as Orihime gazed off across the room at the glinting gold eyes of her assaulter.

Yoruichi. The intent stare was familiar. The cat was testing her. Driving her to the edge, to see whether she would dig her claws into the unforgiving stone or let go and rely on her power to save her.

Doggedly she fought to her feet, not completing the invocation. Relying on her power was to Yoruichi what crying was to Ichigo. Powers, like tears, got you nowhere unless _you _used _them_. To fall back on them without trying every other option was folly.

_I'm not beaten yet. _Orihime fell back into a ready stance, albeit one tailored for defense. There was no beating Yoruichi; cat or not, he was unreal. But often winning wasn't the point, Ichigo had taught her; the point was to survive.

The cat watched her stand there trembling in pain and anxious anticipation for a moment longer, trying her resolve - and nodded once.

"Heal yourself," he said, "and get some rest. We'll work on your form tomorrow. Whoever taught you taught you well, if wild, but you've lost your touch."

As Yoruichi turned tail and left, Orihime dropped to the floor, as much out of surprise as exhaustion. For a second she wondered if this was a test as well, and promptly decided it was. She would be a fool not to take advantage of a reprieve, after all. She summoned Shun'o and Ayame, somehow got Tsubaki as well, and noted a peculiar satisfaction in the ringleader apparent of the Rikka.

Tsubaki really was too much like a male, fairy version of Ichigo.

Restored and refreshed, Orihime directed the two healing fairies over to the semiconscious Chad. The half-Hispanic had pushed his Right Arm of the Giant too hard, firing blast after blast. He was getting better, Yoruichi had said. Good enough to handle a seated officer… but not a high ranking one. Assistant adjutant, maybe. Assistant captain… might be able to escape. Captain? As Yoruichi said, 'Kiss his ass goodbye.'

Within the salmon-pink shield, Chad groaned as his mind returned to aching wakefulness.

Tsubaki snorted, landing on her shoulder as Shun'o and Ayame worked. "What's he groaning for? 's not like he's in pain."

Orihime eyed the dark bruise on her friend's torso that spoke of broken ribs and didn't comment, wondering if personal perception influenced spiritual power. It made sense, and if she had thought the fairy attacker was unnervingly like Ichigo he was getting _worse_.

"Inoue?" said Chad finally, meeting her eyes. "Where's Mr. Yoruichi?"

"He left," Orihime replied. Her mind eased as blue-black began to leech out of the bruise, but she couldn't help cringing as the sound of ribs un-breaking crackled through the room. "I think for the day."

Chad nodded, something like relief in his dark eyes. He was still every bit as resolute as two weeks prior, when the cat had approached them both, but training with Yoruichi made one appreciate any rest one could scrounge.

The healing fairies broke apart their shield, and Orihime dismissed them. Already Chad was letting his eyes shut and falling back into a light sleep, so she got to her feet, determined to see that they had a decent supper. They had, after all, been forced to forego both breakfast and lunch in favor of training.

At least Ichigo had never trained her through a meal. Often she'd felt badly enough that the thought of eating made her nauseous and the orange-head resorted to spoon-feeding her, but she had kept her full.

Those were the days.

Orihime didn't mind though. Yoruichi was training them, and training them well. They wouldn't be able to depend on three square meals a day and snacks throughout in Soul Society. And they would have to be able to fight to survive.

* * *

Isshin really had let himself go, Kisuke reflected darkly. It had been twenty years since Isshin had met Masaki, nineteen since they were married, and a little under fourteen since he had his powers sealed, and while the memory and the reflexes were there, the reishi composition that made up Isshin's soul had weakened.

In other words, Isshin's body couldn't keep up with his mind. Considering roughly ninety-three percent of spiritual movement was directly attributable to mental prowess, this was bad.

Of course, Kisuke was fairly sure he knew the problem. And if he was correct, as he usually was, nothing he could do would help; the solution was up to Isshin.

The former captain of the tenth leaped nimbly over Kisuke's head, and the shopkeeper wheeled around, desperately blocking a deadly slash, letting the other blade slide off Benihime's edge and ducking under for a cut at his opponent's torso.

Isshin was already moving, sidestepping what initially appeared to be a thrust, but that was okay since it wasn't. Benihime tasted blood - from Isshin's palm not abdomen - and Kisuke jumped back before he could pull him in close.

Isshin smiled thinly at the neat slice in his hand, temporarily abandoning the assault to watch as reishi knitted together. Slowly, but it was there.

Kisuke relaxed minutely, and then surged into a flurry of strikes. The other blade met Benihime solidly. _The set of the wrists… _the shopkeeper recognized that his opponent was trying to work him into a weapon lock and redoubled his efforts to avoid it. Physically, 'let go' or not, he couldn't match Isshin's strength.

And giving him any advantage would be a mistake. Unless…

Thinking quickly, Kisuke allowed Isshin to force him back a step, taking the defensive. While the rules for this contest were set out for maximum efficiency - no bankai, no kido, no 'tricks' - his pride refused to let himself be beat down by a shinigami over twenty years out of date.

The former captain ten finally got his weapon lock, and Kisuke made a show of tightening his jaw as he gave another step of ground. _Give in a little… _He smirked inwardly at the grim satisfaction that crossed his opponent's face of its own accord, stoking his spirit pressure. _Push back a little…_

Isshin countered, nearly tossing Kisuke off his feet.

_Sing for me, Benihime. _Crimson reiatsu streamed from the blade, and Kisuke didn't hide a darkly amused grin at the surprised dismay on his opponent's face he could only see for a second.

When two captains were the combatants, it was virtually impossible to discern a spiritual pressure; however, this didn't keep Kisuke from stretching out for the slight null that indicated a suppressed presence. Benihime stayed in a cautious guard as he waited for the dust to clear.

_Either he's down, or…_

Going off instinct more than anything else, the shopkeeper turned to the side, striking out with Benihime toward the area behind him. The clang of zanpakuto meeting zanpakuto rang out through the training facility.

Isshin grinned at him from across their locked weapons. He hadn't dodged the bloodsong completely, but he wasn't much worse for wear. A little blood here, cut there. "I thought we agreed no tricks?"

"That wasn't a trick," Kisuke returned, knowing his opponent really didn't mind. "That was a tactic."

* * *

Orihime hid behind Chad when she saw Tatsuki pass by at the festival.

She knew the other girl was looking for her. She knew the other girl was probably worried. Ichigo had vanished, thought somehow that information had yet to get out, and she herself had as well, leaving a message on her home phone that she was under 'extenuating circumstances' and couldn't be reached.

_Not 'probably,' _Orihime belatedly realized, peeking out from behind Chad to make sure the her friend was gone. _Tatsuki must be out of her mind with worry…. _It made the guilty knot she had shoved down in the bit of her stomach tighten with yet more guilt, but she consoled herself with the bleak truth that Tatsuki was better off worrying so long as it kept her away from Orihime's spiritual presence.

It was what Ichigo called a 'necessary evil.' Somehow Orihime doubted the orange-head had had quite as many issues with her conscience back when it was her that was committing them, but that was a moot point. The fact was, while it hurt in the short term, given time it paid off.

Down the road, Orihime could see Isshin frolicking with Yuzu and Karin - more like a child than the twins combined. Their kimono were getting dusty, but they seemed distracted from the growing anxiety Ichigo's disappearance had caused, and for that Orihime was glad.

"Do you want to join them?" Chad asked quietly, having noticed her attention.

Orihime watched the three Kurosakis a moment longer before shaking her head. _Maybe if Ichigo were here. _She'd be welcome; Yuzu went so far as to call her 'big sis' from time to time and Karin treated her much the same as she did Ichigo.

She wouldn't - couldn't accept that. Not yet. Not until she brought Ichigo back.

"They're going to start shooting the fireworks soon," she chirped instead. "I know this place by the Rubicon - like a little meadow. It'd be perfect to watch from."

Orihime didn't ask Chad to follow, but he did anyway. Filled with a cheerfulness she hadn't felt since that fateful day with the Hollow bait, she absent-mindedly dodged other festival-goers, booths, and a few early drunks. Chad followed at a distance, close enough to make sure no one attempted to assault her but far back enough not to appear to be with her.

They weren't at this festival to party, after all. No; this, they were sure, was Yoruichi's last test.

The pyrotechnics were just starting as they made it to the meadow. Orihime was relieved but not quite surprised to find Tatsuki wasn't there - this was their spot, hers and Tatsuki's and Ichigo's, but the martial artist was searching for her and Ichigo wasn't going to be found.

An explosion of brilliant gold sparks lit the deep violet sky. Reminded of cat eyes, Orihime sat down in the grass, pulling Chad down beside her. Next was a shock of neon green, and then a bolt of blue-white that looked almost like a Quincy arrow.

"Will Uryu be coming with us?" she asked suddenly.

Chad shook his head. It was hard to be sure. "He turned down Mr. Yoruichi's training… but it seemed like he had something else in mind."

Orihime's lips down-turned into a pout. Expecting the Quincy to go was like expecting him to commit suicide, but it would make things so much easier if he did. He didn't even like Ichigo, but… "I think he will."

Chad's dark eyes landed on her, subtly asking for an explanation. She looked up at the darkening sky, lit by the moon and a half-dozen colors of sparkles. Gold, white, blue, red, green and purple against a blue-black background.

"Uryu lost something to the Hollow bait," she said finally. Some ironic part thought, _Like a couple hundred human souls._ "He has something to prove."

The sparks faded out, and there was a short pause in the fireworks. Short, but long enough for the colors to turn to black, until the only light was the moon.

Her own words echoed inside her head, and for some reason, she thought of Tatsuki. And of Chizuru. And of Ichigo and of failure.

"We… all… have something to prove…."

* * *

Isshin sat in the training room off by himself, facing Urahara's Senkaimon, unspeaking. Orihime kept sneaking glances at him out of the corner of her eyes, unable to find her voice, just as she had been ever since following Ichigo's father here to the Urahara Shoten.

Kurosaki Isshin was a shinigami. She boggled.

According to Ichigo, Isshin couldn't even see ghosts. Orihime had seen nothing to prove to the contrary. Yet, there he sat, clad in the black shihakusho that was so familiar.

"Inoue," Uryu murmured. "I didn't know Kurosaki's father was also a shinigami…"

"I didn't either," she whispered back. _Neither did Ichigo… _"Isshi-daddy's not usually so grumpy."

Isshin looked up at that, a poor imitation of his usual overly wounded expression on his face. When he saw it wasn't fooling her, he let it melt away back into its deadly seriousness. Despite never before seeing him like this, Orihime had to admit it actually fit him

"Not grumpy, Orihime," he said quietly. "Just worried."

Judging by the flickering shadows behind his eyes, Orihime got the sneaking suspicion that worry wasn't just for Ichigo or for them.

"Did Yoruichi tell you just what you're up against?" he said suddenly. "The strength of Seireitei's forces, who to avoid… where to go, how we're getting there?"

Orihime glanced sideways at Chad. "Well... He talked about ranks, and how we needed to avoid captains because they'd cream us…"

"They will," Isshin verified. He scowled - but in standard Isshi-daddy fashion, it looked more like a pout. "Stupid Yoruichi, makin' me do all the talking…"

He sounded so much like Ichigo in a sulk Orihime had to giggle. He pouted again at her.

"Anyway, here's the basics," the older shinigami said, sobering again. "Soul Society has thirteen divisions, one captain per division and one captain for the kido corps. If you meet someone in a white haori, you're best bet is to get out of there; if that's not possible, try and figure out with division they're from. If it's division one, four, five, eight, or thirteen, don't bother fighting."

Uryu's eyebrows had climbed nearly to his hairline. Feeling unsettled, Orihime stole another glance at Chad. He nodded at her, appearing unfazed.

Isshin continued, "Each of the captains have an assistant captain. They aren't nearly as strong as the captains; I'd say each of you is an equal or stronger than an assistant captain. But don't get cocky, because they did earn their positions."

His tone turned authoritative.

"We have two objectives: the retrieval of Kuchiki Rukia and Kurosaki Ichigo. Kuchiki will be in the Senzaikyu - it's a huge white tower near the center of Seireitei, facing Sokyoku Hill, where executions are carried out. Ichigo…" Here he faltered some. "Ichigo will be somewhere in the twelfth division's laboratory complex, to the east of the Senzaikyu. It's built to shield reiatsu signatures, so she'll be harder find than Kuchiki."

"So we're going for Kurosaki first?" asked Uryu.

Isshin looked away. "_I _will."

* * *

Urahara Kisuke was not by anyone's measure a family man, but he liked to think he was good with children. Yes, Ururu was a bit odd, and Jinta really needed to learn to control his temper, but then, kids were like that.

Despite this, most parents considered it good sense to keep their children away from the shopkeeper. Maybe it was the dotty air, maybe they just didn't like him, but Kisuke couldn't recall ever entertaining children in his shop for more than a few minutes.

"This is goat-chin's friend? Geez, I suppose it's true about birds of a feather flocking together."

Kurosaki Isshin, as usual, proved to be an exception. And, from what Kisuke could tell, an unpleasant one. The man's twin eleven-year-olds both stared up at the shopkeeper, one in contempt and the other in curiosity.

The blonde one - the curious one - shot the other a reproachful look. "Karin, you shouldn't be so mean," she whispered. She gave a polite bow to Kisuke. "I'm Kurosaki Yuzu, and this is Karin."

"Urahara Kisuke," he said with a jaunty smile.

"Old goat-chin said you knew what happened to Ichigo," said the contemptuous one, Karin. She fixed him with a look that might have been intimidating if Kisuke were a century or two younger. "He said that he was going after her, but he didn't explain anything. Just _what_ happened to my sister, sandal-hat?"

Oh dear. Perhaps he had been too complacent in his handling of Isshin. How very like the man to foist off explanations in favor of action. Sakushu had never been fond of uncomfortable conversations or situations that required a delicate hand. And at the same time, how very Kurosaki to set the deck for Kisuke without intending.

He watched Kurosaki's twins for a moment, weighing the possibilities in his mind. Keep the core truth, most of the details. But what not to tell, to shift the situation even more in his favor?

Kisuke smiled, and began to outline the tale.

And off to Soul Society we go! No Ichigo this chapter, but be assured she will return next time.


	10. Double Standard

Do thine eyes deceive thee? An update! And it didn't take six months!

Haha. Don't hold your breath for the next one... this one just came easy.

Bleach is not mine. Not even the most recent manga volume, dangit.

**

* * *

**

Chapter Three - Double Standard

"You know, I fucking hate you."

Ichigo started in surprise, fumbling for Zangetsu before she remembered he wasn't with her here. Here, in this odd sideways world where is was raining, raining, always raining. The voice caught her off-guard, since in however long she had been here, Ichigo had been alone with nothing but her thoughts for company. That was why she was slow to turn around.

"Wu - what the hell?" she breathed, staring in shock.

The person standing behind her could have been her reflection in the mirror: orange hair that fell a few inches past the shoulders, hard brown eyes, black shihakusho and - Zangetsu? - slung across her back. There were only small differences to assure Ichigo she wasn't going crazy. The double's skin was pinker, a healthier shade than her own permanent pallor, Zangetsu's cloth was white, not red, and her wrists were reddened and raw… like she had wrestled free of a painfully tight rope.

"What am I?" the double asked, her tone thick with the sort of loathing Ichigo could only correlate to what she had felt for Grand Fisher. "Here's a better question, _utsuro_. What are you?"

"What sort of question is that?" Ichigo demanded, getting angry. She sprang to her feet. "Why the hell do you look like me? And what the _fuck _are you doing with Zangetsu?"

The other glared back at her disgustedly. "_I _look like _you_? You couldn't be more wrong. It's _you _that looks like _me_. You that's been parading around like the world's yours. You that's been a plague on _my _family, acting like a rabid _monster _that ought to have been put down _years _ago!"

By the time the double finished, she was shouting. Ichigo stared. Shaking her head slowly, she pronounced, "You… are crazier than shit."

"I wonder why?" mirror-Ichigo snarled. "Maybe because a piece of _filth _shut me up in my own soul and stole my life?"

_At least she didn't deny it… _Ichigo thought, off-balance. Usually she knew why she was being insulted, but she had no clue why some look-alike was claiming she had hijacked her body.

Then on instinct she was leaping backward, over a gap between two towering skyscrapers, to dodge a terrific slash from the insane bitch and her odd, white-clothed Zangetsu. The attack left a gouge a dozen feet deep in the building's side; it would have sliced her in two. Easily.

It was a bizarre role reversal, to see Kurosaki Ichigo chasing after her, Zangetsu in hand, thirsty for blood, and Ichigo realized as she gave ground again it was one she really didn't like. In fact… she felt - she felt… _scared_. If only she had a weapon, any weapon. It was insanity to try and fight Zangetsu with bare hands.

_Only… _she frowned. Had this copy of her ever fought with a sword before? Because she certainly didn't seem to understand how. She didn't cover herself; she didn't look for weak spots; her strikes were powerful but easily avoided, and she was so terribly inefficient it made Ichigo want to cringe. She caused more damage to herself than she did to Ichigo.

Ichigo continued to dodge, waiting for the double to slip up. There - she'd left herself wide open by attempting a two-handed hammer strike. Ichigo swooped in like a hawk, zeroing on the other's red-raw wrists with an ascending crescent kick.

Mirror-Ichigo dropped Zangetsu with a howl of pain, the single kick causing the skin of her wrists to crack open and bleed. Ichigo dived for the sword; unfortunately, the clone anticipated her, lashing out with a surprisingly powerful kick of her own that might have caused a concussion if it hadn't been dodged. She, too, went for the sword.

Neither of them got it.

A shadow intercepted them both, swiping the blade out from their grasping hands and slipping some feet away before it straightened and began to coalesce in a familiar form.

"Zangetsu?" both Ichigo and the double said. Both immediately exchanged angry looks.

Zangetsu glanced between the two of them, his eyes shadowed as he had been a second before and strangely sad. "Why are you fighting?" he asked quietly. Oddly, it was Ichigo he directed his question toward.

She sputtered. "Because she attacked me, that's why! She's crazy!"

"And you're a bloodthirsty animal who kills for sport," the other replied archly, suddenly reminding Ichigo strongly of Ishida - the Ishida before he had gotten his slice of humble pie during the Hollow-killing contest. All hatred and contempt and arrogant stupidity.

"Ichigo, stop," Zangetsu ordered, this time looking at the double.

"Don't call her that!" Ichigo snapped. There wasn't a chance she was letting this freak use her name. "Call her whatever, but don't call her that!" It was _her _name, damnit.

"It's my name," the other retorted.

"It's _mine_!" Ichigo searched for a name that would piss the other off, and recalled how angry she'd gotten when she had said they looked alike. "Not yours, _Kagami_."

Infuriated, Kagami raised a hand as though to use a kido, but with a glance at Zangetsu, thought better of it. "You claim it now," she drawled, "but it should never have been yours to begin with."

Zangetsu closed his eyes.

* * *

Hitsugaya Toshiro was an accomplished and respected captain despite his height and apparent age. He was one of the youngest in recorded history to have gained bankai, let alone captaincy, his zanpakuto was considered to be the most powerful of its type, and he was one of the few captains who routinely completed their paperwork on time.

However, despite what the shinigami recruiters who swept the Rukongai ever few decades said, there were definite downsides to be a captain on the Gotei 13; one of them, Toshiro often thought, was the people he had to work with. Missions with Captain Ichimaru were loathsome, missions with Captain Zaraki were arguably worse, but Captain Kurotsuchi was the worst of the lot.

The head of research and development spoke with a peeved expression on his painted face, portraying clearly his desire to be back in his labs with his newest specimen.

"The resistance of her reishi composition to my available methods of investigation is impressive," Kurotsuchi admitted grudgingly. "Preliminary experiments have proved largely inconclusive."

"So we're called here to hear you say you haven't managed anything worth talkin' about?" Zaraki cut in.

Toshiro privately agreed. He had better things to do with his time than listen to Kurotsuchi give a report on what he had had not been able to do to his specimen. Especially when that specimen was a fifteen year old human girl a captain of the Gotei had kidnapped from the human world for expressly that purpose. The Court Guard had its own ways of doing things, that was true, but there was no precedent for that.

"Largely, Zaraki," Kurotsuchi snapped, "if your feeble mind is capable of understanding that. I have succeeded in confirming the presence of several genetic Hollow reishi markers."

_Hollow genetic markers? _Toshiro straightened a little upon hearing that. It wasn't unheard of for Hollows to take advantage of spiritually aware human women, but it was rare enough - especially in recent times - to elicit attention. "Explains the hair," he commented.

"That is likely why her reishi is so resistant," Kurotsuchi continued, as though he hadn't been interrupted. His eyes seemed to unfocus as he considered. "Depending on the breed of Hollow… probably a higher class. Likely adjucha. Or maybe advancing gillian. I'd have to-"

"Kurotsuchi, get to the point," Yamamoto ordered roughly.

"Kurosaki's a first- to third-generation part-Hollow," the twelfth division captain snapped. "With a great potential for both growth and evolution. Her natural reiatsu is currently between assistant captain and captain level, has probably never been below that of a seated officer, and could possibly advance enough to outclass even you, Captain-General, given enough time. But that's not all."

_That's not all? _Toshiro felt shaken, but at the same time intrigued. That sort of talent didn't come about often; in the roughly five thousand years since Yamamoto's ascension to Captain-General, there had been no shinigami to come close to matching his spiritual pressure. And Kurotsuchi said there was more?

"What more can there be?" Aizen asked curiously.

Kurotsuchi's painted faced twisted in a disturbing approximation of a gleeful smile. "The girl's not just part Hollow. She's trueborn, as well."

The meeting fell into anarchy.

* * *

Rukia didn't turn around when she heard someone enter the visitor's area of the cell she resided in, though she wondered who it was. It wasn't time for supper, yet, Renji had already visited, and Byakuya hadn't visited at all except to deliver her sentence.

"Kuchiki, look at me. I'd rather not talk to your back."

"Captain Ukitake?" she exclaimed, not expecting the friendly warm voice. Rukia turned around, gaping unbecomingly. "It's you?"

"That's better." The thirteenth division captain smiled at her through the bars, and then studied her profile. "You're too pale, Kuchiki. But I suppose nothing can be done to help that."

"I wasn't expecting you," Rukia admitted. It wasn't like she was anything special - just another unseated shinigami that had broken the law and was paying for it. Her brother may have been nobility, but she was only adopted.

Ukitake laughed softly. "Maybe not. But we just left a captains' meeting, and I thought I'd drop by and visit. Byakuya hasn't been here, has he?"

As usual, Ukitake saw straight to the heart of the matter. Rukia averted her gaze. "I'm sure he's been busy. You said there had been a captains' meeting?"

"That Byakuya… always such a stickler for the rules…" Ukitake shook his head, but went with the topic change. "Yes. Captain-General Yamamoto required that Captain Kurotsuchi report periodically on his… research."

Feeling sick at her stomach, Rukia's hands fisted and she turned away again. _Research… they call vivisection 'research'! _"I can't believe the Gotei has fallen so far as to kidnap souls out of the Living World for Kurotsuchi's sick amusement," she snarled.

She could imagine him looking sadly at her back. He said, "I don't disagree with you, Kuchiki. If nothing else, the oversight keeps him from doing anything too permanent long enough for Central 46 to reconsider."

Astonished, Rukia felt hope blossom in her chest. "…Reconsider?" She glanced back again it time to see her captain nod. "But that requires four captains to appeal…" Decisions of the Council of 46 were virtually never overturned, or even just _objected_!

"Yes. We got our fourth today. Captain Unohana and Captain Aizen objected to taking Kurosaki from the start, and Captain Hitsugaya submitted his appeal after the meeting. It's your luck, Kuchiki," he said, "that you stumbled across the most potentially powerful trueborn shinigami in thousands of years."

Rukia turned fully to face him, mystified. "What are you talking about? Ichigo's mother was eaten by a Hollow six years ago and her father is spiritually _blind_."

Ukitake took this in passively, a thoughtful look on his face. "But she is trueborn, and you don't get that sort of talent on accident. I'd almost think one of them must have had their reiryoku bound… maybe even both. What were her parents' names?"

_Well, I guess that's possible… _Rukia bit her lip. It _was _rare for three children born to spiritually blind parents to all be spiritually gifted, let alone to Ichigo's or Karin's extent…. "I don't actually know the name of Ichigo's mother… but her father's name is Isshin. Kurosaki Isshin."

The captain of the thirteenth division blinked, surprise flickering across his face. "Isshin?" he repeated. "You're sure his name was Isshin?" Rukia nodded slowly. "Tall, black hair, moderately built?"

She nodded again, feeling more disconcerted by the second. "You don't… _know _him?"

Captain Ukitake hemmed. "If it's who I think it is, then yes, I do. And it would certainly explain quite a bit. You might want to keep that name to yourself, if anyone else asks."

"Why?" Rukia couldn't imagine Kurosaki Isshin being anyone that would make a case against Ichigo, unless it was a case for potential sainthood. Isshin was just strange. Nice, but strange.

"Well…" Ukitake paused, debating something in his mind. Probably whether to tell her. "I never knew a Kurosaki Isshin… but I was rather fond of Sakushu Isshin. He was the captain of the tenth division before Toshiro, but left some hundred and twenty years ago. Not that he really had a choice - he committed a high crime, and rather than taking the chance that he would be executed, he chose to desert. They searched for him, obviously, but he was never found."

"What sort of high crime?" she asked, unable to fit the contrasting pictures at all. It was a bizarre coincidence if it was one, but she thought that just as likely as it being the truth.

"He went too far in pursuit of power," Ukitake said cryptically, and although Rukia wasn't satisfied, she realized she wasn't getting any more information. "So," he added. "How are things going with your friend, Abarai? He's been aggravating everyone with his temper as of late."

* * *

Toshiro stared at the Hell butterfly in consternation. On the whole, this was good news. The appeal had been successful; Central 46 had reviewed the case in light of the new information provided by Kurotsuchi and revoked its former decision on Kurosaki's fate. They agreed it was foolish to waste the girl's potential.

_On the other hand…_

"What's wrong, Captain?" Matsumoto inquired innocently, stifling a laugh.

"Why do _I _have to babysit her until they're satisfied she's not a threat?" Toshiro asked the air, disgruntled.

His assistant captain let slip a giggle. He leveled her as nasty a glare as he could muster.

The busty woman shrugged, unaffected. She smiled slyly. "Maybe they just think you're the most qualified."

Toshiro rolled his eyes, organizing a few forms and petitions he had been reading over when the message arrived. "Over Ukitake? Over Aizen?"

"Well…" Matsumoto's grin widened. "They probably think you're more likely to be underestimated."

"More likely they think Aizen or Ukitake'll get too attached," he groused, before shaking his head and getting over it. _She'll need a place to sleep… _He found a scrap of blank paper and scribbled a quick notice to the tenth's restrictive housing department, feeding it to the butterfly and sending it off with a touch of reiatsu. _…and probably medical treatment… _"Matsumoto, go on ahead and set Kurosaki up an appointment with Captain Unohana later today. Give me a couple of hours; it'll take that long to get her away from the twelfth."

Matsumoto grew serious and nodded. "She'll need some clothing and amenities as well," she added. "I'll have them sent to her quarters when they're ready. And probably some books…. Maybe some sake."

"She's underage," Toshiro remarked.

The assistant captain looked at him. "So?"

He rolled his eyes again. "Never mind. Just get on it."

* * *

"I don't like this place," Ichigo complained, scowling at the windowpane she was using as a seat. "It's a stupid, sideways place that's too bright and contains even stupider me-clones. What happened to the desert? I liked it just fine."

Behind her, she heard Zangetsu breathe out a sigh. "The desert is gone, Ichigo. Things are different now."

"No shit!" Ichigo snapped. "What the fuck is going on, Zangetsu? What's with the extra passenger?"

Zangetsu was quiet. "She's you and not you. She's a decision you didn't make. She's what could have been. The question is, what will you do about her?"

Ichigo paused, turned around slowly, and stared at the zanpakuto avatar. That was downright cryptic. "What is that supposed to mean?" _It sounds like he's saying I've got some alternate reality Ichigo in my head. _

"I promised to aid you on whatever path you chose to take, _comandante_," he said. There was an odd note in his voice. "But I will not choose that path for you. What will you do with her?"

The orange-head hesitated. "I want things to go back to normal," she admitted, but remembered abruptly with a twinge of discomfort the painfully red-raw wrists her double had had. There was one thing to beat someone into submission, and it was quite another to tie it up and _then _beat it when it couldn't fight. Most people learned to keep in line when they figured out there was no way to win.

"I'm going to fight her," Ichigo decided. "If I win, she learns to keep in line."

"And if you lose?" asked Zangetsu.

Ichigo thought about Kagami's sloppy swordwork and only passable hand-to-hand, and thought that unlikely. She had always learned fast when put on the spot - but that went both ways. "Then I didn't deserve to boss her around, anyway."

Zangetsu smiled. "True."

"I guess I ought ta get to it, then…" Ichigo said, and sighed. "So where-"

A jolt of pain shot through her, cutting off anything she was about to say. Zangetsu started in concern and moved to crouch down beside her as her body was shocked by a second round of pain that didn't fade, unlike the sunlit sideways world and her zanpakuto's worried face.

The blurry room that swam out of the darkness was familiar, like a snapshot from a nightmare, and if her limbs hadn't been so heavy and so numb, Ichigo would have immediately tried to bolt. As it was, she could hardly stand, and the assistance of the girl - Nemu? - was all that allowed her to make if off the table without falling to the floor.

"Lord Mayuri wants me to see that you're properly washed," said Nemu quietly, half carrying her though several winding halls. From the corners of her eyes, Ichigo saw several shinigami - some of them nearly as misshapen as the Mayuri clown freak - looking at her curiously.

Taking a breath, Ichigo tried to speak around a throat that was constricted and scratchy. "What… what's…" _What's going on…?_

"The Council of 46 rescinded my lord's study permit." Nemu stopped at a door with the symbol for 'sanitation' emblazoned on it and opened it. "He has been ordered to release you into the custody of the captain of the tenth division."

_Study permit? _Ichigo gave a mental snort. Although her mind was already trying to acclimate to her body's condition, she hadn't felt so ravaged since… well, since about two years ago, when she pissed off too many of the wrong people, got her ass busted all the way down the Plaza, and probably only survived because Chad and Orihime came to the rescue.

She had never looked at them the same way since.

But that memory was depressing, and Ichigo was brought rudely back to reality when Nemu turned on the shower, raining steaming hot water down on abused skin and red-raw wrists and ankles that fairly screamed under the assault.

_Oh God…. _Ichigo gasped at the sudden pain, and bit down on her tongue to distract herself so she didn't cry out. Nemu didn't seem to realize, but let her drop to the floor as she located some manner of hair product and began to smear it in.

_Concentrate on the present_, Ichigo tried to tell herself. If she was going to be realized into someone's else's custody, then she would be better off if she knew what she was dealing with. The orange-head struggled for several minutes with her reluctant throat to form the words. "Who… tenth division… captain?"

Nemu rinsed the shampoo out with all the aplomb of a hairstylist and then got out the soap. She didn't reply.

* * *

Not long after they had begun their dash into the dangai, the border world, Yoruichi was swearing under her and wondering just what possessed Kisuke to send this freak of nature back to Seireitei, let alone for so serious a reason. Kurosaki Isshin was nothing like the formidable, ends-oriented captain she remembered, who had truly lived up to the name Sakushu… exploitation.

"Kurosaki!" she finally snarled. "Stop acting like a tour guide!"

He smiled innocently at her. "But Yoruichi, it's not every day someone gets to see the dangai…" The former captain glanced around and then pointed, hooting like an excited child. "And look, over there! That's where Takura the Great got stuck trying to gatecrash Soul Society."

Inoue was giggling. Sado appeared to be listening intently. Ishida, on the other hand, was staring at Isshin as if unable to believe he was real and not some demented hallucination.

"What happened to this Takura?" the Quincy offered dubiously after a second. "I've never heard of him."

Isshin shrugged, unbothered. "The shinigami would've left him to the hollows, but since Takura was spiritually powerful, they sent a squad from the tenth division to harvest his reiatsu and dispose of him."

Yoruichi remembered that, and despite her irritation at Isshin for not being the comrade she had expected, stifled a snicker. The reaction of any shinigami old enough to remember that incident would be hilarious if they heard that idiot referred to as 'the Great'.

"Harvest his reiatsu?" Sado repeated, having picked up on the most important part of the story.

The former tenth division captain shrugged again. "Yeah. It's easier to take it off of criminals than convincing active shinigami to donate, after all."

"Donate?" said Inoue. "Like when Rukia asked Ichigo to loan her some reiatsu so she could use kido?"

Yoruichi's head shot up. Kuchiki had done _what_?

"Yeah, that's exactly it, Orihime, you've got it just right!" Isshin swooped down and gave Inoue a congratulatory hug. Inoue squealed and hugged 'Isshi-daddy' back, and the two started what might have become a mortifying reproduction of their exchange right outside the Senkaimon if Ishida hadn't cleared his throat. She was really starting to like that kid.

"Why would it be difficult to convince shinigami to donate their reiatsu?" he asked. "There were no negative side effects to Kurosaki."

_To Kurosaki, yes. Damn Kisuke! _Yoruichi realized she had bared her fangs and tried to calm down. This changed things. Apparently Isshin would get his way after all - the twelfth division would have Kuchiki's gigai, and they'd need that.

"Why don't most people donate blood?" Isshin asked rhetorically, sidestepping the question. "After all, there's no negative side effects to-" Abruptly and alarmingly, Isshin broke off, glancing back and forth past the walls of koryu he was holding up via a captain-restricted kido. "Oh dear…"

Yoruichi felt her fur stand on end. "It's not…?" _Oh God, not now. Not now of all times…_

"The kototsu," Isshin affirmed. He pouted like a child. "I think it's mad."

"Well, what are you standing around for?" Yoruichi demanded, taking off as fast as she could manage on four paws without using shunpo. "Run, you idiots!"

* * *

**BTW - No, Whitey-chan and Ichigo are NOT related.** Just clearing that up, because Dolphin River pointed out to me that might be misconstrued.

I'm going to break faith and ask for reviews here... I'm anxious to know what you think. Thanks!


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